The Enforcement Directorate (ED), on January 24, attached properties worth Rs 1.5 crore linked to IPS officer Amrit Paul and head constable Sridhar H under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in connection with the alleged Rs 100 crore police sub-inspector (PSI) recruitment scam in Karnataka.
According to the ED, Amrit had used the bribes to purchase real estate.
In an official statement, the ED said its investigation revealed that Amrit, who was then Additional Director General of Police (Recruitment), played a key role in the conspiracy by facilitating unauthorised access to the strongroom where Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) answer sheets were stored.
“He handed over the keys of the almirah containing the strongroom keys to then Deputy Superintendent of Police Shanth Kumar, allowing accomplices, including Sridhar H, to tamper with the OMR sheets of undeserving candidates to ensure their selection. The accused collected bribes ranging from Rs 30 lakh to Rs 70 lakh per candidate. The illicit cash proceeds were layered under the guise of loans and the money was utilised for the construction of residential properties,” the statement said, according to The Times of India.
The ED said it has already filed a prosecution complaint in the case and that the court has taken cognisance of the offence of money laundering.
The PSI recruitment examination for 545 posts was conducted in October 2021, with over 54,000 candidates appearing across 93 centres in Karnataka. After the results were announced in January 2022, allegations of corruption and irregularities surfaced, leading to a criminal complaint at the High Grounds police station. The case was subsequently transferred to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
CID investigations revealed that the police recruitment cell, housed within the CID headquarters, was the hub of the alleged scam. More than 75 people, including Amrit, were arrested in connection with the case. According to CID findings, the cheating was carried out in two stages: first by allowing candidates to receive answers through Bluetooth devices at select exam centres, and later by tampering with OMR sheets inside the strongroom.
Suspended DSP Shanth Kumar was identified as the key official who accessed the strongroom at the CID headquarters and manipulated the answer sheets. The CID filed 17 chargesheets, five of which detailed Paul’s alleged role in the scam. Investigators also reportedly recovered more than Rs 3 crore from the car driver of the IPS officer. One chargesheet stated that Paul allegedly received a bribe from a candidate through a neighbour in Sahakarnagar.
The ED later took over the money laundering probe in the case.
According to reports, Amrit, who is due to retire in 2027, has not yet faced departmental proceedings by the state government, despite the serious allegations against him and other police officials involved in the case.
The scam came to light in 2022 after it was found that the OMR sheets of 22 candidates did not match their carbon copies, allegedly due to post-examination tampering aimed at securing their selection.