A police constable in the dock for alleged irregularities in a constable recruitment exam died by suicide Saturday in village Rampur village in Chhattisgarh’s Rajnandgaon district after alleging that there was an attempt to frame lower rung policemen. The incident has sparked a political controversy in the state.
The development comes on a day when six people – including four constables – were arrested for the alleged manipulation of scores during a constable recruitment exam held in the district on November 16. According to officials, the constable Anil Ratnakar, who was on duty during the recruitment process, was found hanging from a tree early in the village.
A note found written in Hindi on the palm of his hand allegedly said: “They are implicating karmacharis (constables) and they are trying to protect officers. Everyone is involved”.
Ratnakar had joined the force in 2021 and was posted in Khairagarh district.
Speaking about the alleged suicide, Rajnandgaon Superintendent of Police Mohit Garg told The Indian Express: “He was on duty for the constable recruitment work from November 16. We had registered an FIR recently due to fraudulent entries of candidates… Whether it was police or the private company which provided tech support, all were being questioned. Anil has said that officers are being protected…it’s a serious issue and appropriate action will be taken”.
An FIR registered on December 17 on the basis of a complaint made by Deputy Superintendent Tanupriya Thakur claimed there was some manipulation in the marking system for short put, which was part of the physical assessment exam. According to the complaint, Thakur, who was part of the committee in charge of the recruitment process, had found that some aspirants scored higher despite their poor performance.
“After the matter came to light, we dismissed more than 10 people — including some policemen. We have found 30 entries so far,” he said.
Two computer operators from a private company that was entrusted to record the scores have also been arrested in connection.
Former chief minister Bhupesh Baghel voiced concern about the constable’s suicide in a social media post.
“The corruption in police recruitment in Rajnandgaon looks quite serious as content written by constable Anil Ratnakar before committing suicide suggests the workers are been implicated while officers are safeguarded. It means the officials are involved (CM) Vishnu Deo Sai ji,” Baghel said, seeking a high-level inquiry into the allegations.
The constable’s family, meanwhile, maintained his innocence, claiming that he was upset at being removed from duty after the allegation surfaced. His phone had also been seized, his brother Sunil told the media.
“He borrowed a phone and called me last night to say he was being falsely implicated and they were being tortured one by one. He said others on duty were involved but they are falsely implicating us karmacharis (policemen) and making us scapegoats,” he said.
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