Marandi Alleges Cover-Up in JPSC, JSSC Recruitment Probe, Seeks CBI Inquiry

Leader of the Opposition in the Jharkhand Assembly, Babulal Marandi, on Sunday alleged that the ongoing Crime Investigation Department (CID) probe into alleged irregularities in Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) and Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC) recruitment examinations is being steered to shield influential people.

In a post on X, Mr. Marandi said complaints were surfacing that corroborated his earlier apprehensions. He claimed that when detained or interrogated individuals disclose details about bribery transactions and the involvement of high-profile politicians, officials or their intermediaries, those portions are left out of their recorded statements.

Citing anonymous accounts from junior officials associated with the investigation, he said senior departmental officers were pressuring them not to include such statements in the official record. If true, he wrote, this amounts to a grave suppression of the truth and the protection of influential people under the guise of an investigation.

Mr. Marandi questioned why the statement-recording process was not being videographed. He said the original recordings should be preserved without tampering, trimming or editing so that no official can alter, or cause to be altered, anyone's statement for convenience. He asked why there was such anxiety to exclude a prominent name from the record the moment it was mentioned, and whether the investigation was meant to uncover the truth or shield certain individuals.

The former Chief Minister also referred to earlier allegations about the role of former Jharkhand DGP Anurag Gupta, accusing him of steering the investigation in the wrong direction, destroying evidence and denying the existence of the recruitment scam. He said the shift in the CID's stance after protests by students and the unemployed had deepened these questions.

Turning to the current probe, Mr. Marandi said complaints were emerging that "small fish" were being made scapegoats to shield the "big fish". He said these grievances must be addressed through impartial action and the preservation of evidence, adding that showcasing the arrests of low-level individuals alone would not dispel apprehensions.

Senior IPS officer of ADG rank Manoj Kaushik is leading the seven-member team investigating the alleged irregularities in the recruitment examinations.

Mr. Marandi warned the investigating officer that any effort to drop names from statements, erase digital evidence or pressure individuals into giving fabricated statements must stop immediately. He also advised the next generation of officers not to stake their service, reputation and conscience merely to curry favour with those in power.

Urging Chief Minister Hemant Soren not to force students and the unemployed to take to the streets again, he called for an immediate recommendation for a CBI inquiry and for arrangements to secure and preserve all original statements, video recordings and digital evidence.