SDM under SOG lens for 'proxy' role in SI exam

Jaipur: Rajasthan Police's Special Operations Group (SOG) Wednesday detained a Rajasthan Administrative Service (RAS) officer posted as the sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) in Jaisalmer's Fatehgarh for allegedly appearing as a proxy candidate in the Sub-Inspector (SI) recruitment exam held in 2021. The SOG team picked up the officer, identified as Hanumana Ram, for questioning.

ADG (SOG) VK Singh told TOI the official is being brought to Jaipur for detailed interrogation to ascertain whether he indeed sat in as a proxy for Narpat Ram in the SI 2021 recruitment exam. Officials said Hanumana Ram's name surfaced during the interrogation of Narpat Ram, who was arrested from Goa Sunday. On the same day, the Jodhpur Range police arrested Narpat's wife, Indra, from Jodhpur.

Sources said Indra was found to have appeared as a dummy candidate for a woman named Harkhu Jat in the same 2021 exam on Sept 13. The deal, allegedly brokered by Narpat, was struck for Rs 15 lakh. While Harkhu cleared the exam using Indra as a proxy, Indra herself, sat in for the same exam on Sept 15, failed to qualify.

Following the arrest of Harkhu from the police academy, both Narpat and Indra went underground, but the police tracked down and nabbed them. A senior official said during the investigation, Narpat claimed the SDM appeared in the exam on his behalf, and this prompted the agency to take the bureaucrat into custody for questioning.

Besides examining the alleged involvement of Hanumana Ram, the SOG is probing whether more instances of impersonation occurred during the same exam cycle. An official said Narpat narrowly missed to qualify for the exam. The official added that SOG teams are probing whether the RAS official told Narpat to flee and facilitated his stay in Goa while in hiding.

The official said some crucial details are still missing in the case. The authorities are also planning to examine if Hanumana qualified for the RAS exam through proper means. Sources said when the news of the SOG investigating Hanumana spread, several people contacted the agency to share confidential information about him.