Raipur, September 2: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) launched a search operation on Tuesday at five locations across Raipur, Durg, Dhamtari, and Jashpur districts in Chhattisgarh. This action was taken under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
On Wednesday, the ED reported that this case is linked to alleged irregularities, paper leaks, and corruption in the recruitment process conducted by the Chhattisgarh Public Service Commission (CGPSC).
The investigation by the ED was initiated based on two FIRs filed by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW), ACB Raipur, and the CBI, ACB Raipur. These FIRs were registered against the then-chairman of CGPSC, Taman Singh Sonwani, and others for large-scale irregularities, manipulation, and corruption in the CGPSC State Service examinations held in 2020 and 2021.
The inquiry revealed that exam papers for CGPSC were leaked to relatives of the accused and selected candidates through private brokers in exchange for bribes. This led to fraudulent selections for senior government positions, such as Deputy Collector and Deputy Superintendent of Police. Further investigation uncovered that Utkarsh Chandrakar and Dr. Vikas Chandrakar collected cash from job candidates by promising to provide leaked papers for the CGPSC-2021 exam, amassing over ₹3 crores in illicit earnings.
Approximately ₹2.80 crores of this amount was handed over to Anil Chandrakar. Utkarsh Chandrakar used the name, position, and influence of KK Chandravanshi, who was the personal assistant to the then Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, to manipulate job candidates and extort money from them.
Previously, the ED had conducted a search on June 3 in this case. Based on the collected evidence, statements recorded under Section 50 of the PMLA, digital evidence from their mobile phones, and analysis of their bank statements, it was established that Utkarsh Chandrakar was deliberately involved in activities related to the proceeds of crime. These activities included earning, acquiring, retaining, concealing, layering, transferring, using, and presenting the money as clean assets.
Consequently, he was arrested on Tuesday under Section 19 of the PMLA, 2002. During the searches, documents related to the crime, digital devices, financial records, property-related documents, and other evidence pertinent to the investigation were seized. The ED continues its investigation and actions related to this case.
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