Arrested suspects (faces covered) at Pune police commissioner office on Tuesday. Days after a leak of the question paper of the soldier recruitment process came to light, the Indian Army Thursday released a statement saying the existing system of the recruitment process will be made more foolproof and robust by incorporating the findings of a joint investigation by Army authorities and Maharashtra police.
In a joint operation by the Southern Command Liaison Unit of the Military Intelligence and the Crime Branch of Pune city police, multiple raids were conducted last week leading to the recovery of the question paper of the Common Entrance Exam (CEE) for recruitment of Soldier (General Duty), prior to the exam, indicating a leak. The exam was scheduled to take place on February 28.
A statement from the Indian Army issued on Thursday said, “In pursuance of Indian Army’s resolve to ensure transparency and eliminate corrupt practices in recruitment, Indian Army and Maharashtra State Police are jointly investigating the recent case of leakage of question paper for Common Entrance Examination for recruitment of Soldiers (General Duty). The findings of the inquiry will be incorporated into the existing system of the recruitment process to make it more foolproof and robust. Due process of law will be followed to proceed against persons who may have violated the standard operating procedures for the conduct of such examinations.”
After the leak came to light, the Pune police registered two separate offences at Wanawadi and Vishrantwadi police stations denoting actions by two separate teams of the crime branch into the same examination process. In the case registered at Vishrantwadi police station three persons including an ex-serviceman were arrested. In the case at Wanawadi police station, two serving Army personnel and two others were initially arrested. Two more persons were arrested on Wednesday, taking the total number of arrests in the case to nine till now.
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The Indian Express had reported that the coordinated probe by Pune police and Military Intelligence also brought highlighted how exactly the paper was leaked using the loopholes in the system. On the other hand, the Army is planning to conduct an internal inquiry, following the completion of the ongoing probe by police in tandem with the Military Intelligence. The internal inquiry by the Army will try to ascertain possible procedural lapses that might have caused or aided the alleged paper leak.