The Uttar Pradesh Economic Offences Wing (EOW) arrested three more accused in the alleged large-scale irregularities in the 2018 village development officer (VDO) recruitment examination. Several other accused were arrested in earlier phases of the investigation.
The latest arrests were made under the agency’s ongoing drive “Operation Shikanja,” aimed at tracing and apprehending wanted accused in examination scams. Officials said the trio had been evading arrest and were picked up from different districts on Monday (June 8).
“The accused have been identified as Gangesh Kumar of Azamgarh, Vipin Chaudhary of Sant Kabir Nagar and Sushil Kumar of Jaunpur. Gangesh was arrested from Sidhari police station premises, Vipin was nabbed near a hospital in Khalilabad while Sushil was held from his native village,” read details shared by the department.
The case relates to the recruitment examination conducted in 2018 by the Uttar Pradesh Subordinate Services Selection Commission (UPSSSC) for 1,953 posts, including VDOs, social welfare supervisors and gram panchayat officers. Tata Consultancy Services had been assigned the task of conducting the exam.
Following complaints of irregularities and alleged manipulation, the state government handed over the probe to a Special Investigation Team (SIT) which was later merged into the EOW. A detailed investigation led to the registration of a case at Vibhuti Khand police station before a fresh FIR (No. 02/2021) was lodged at the SIT police station under IPC sections related to forgery, falsification of records and criminal conspiracy.
Investigators said analysis of witness statements, documents and technical evidence has so far revealed the involvement of as many as 173 accused. These include alleged middlemen, candidates and certain officials and employees linked to the recruitment process.
According to EOW officials, the accused were part of a wider conspiracy in which ineligible candidates were allegedly favoured by tampering with OMR answer sheets in exchange for money. The manipulation reportedly ensured inflated scores for selected candidates, depriving genuine aspirants of fair selection.
The probe has pointed to collusion between insiders, intermediaries and beneficiaries, suggesting a well-organised network. Later, the state government had cancelled the entire recruitment process. EOW officials said further probe is underway to track down the absconding accused.
