RANCHI: Jharkhand govt has expanded the special investigation team (SIT) probing alleged irregularities in the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC) Combined Graduate Level (CGL) examination, appointing 17 additional officers, including six IPS officers, in a major push to deepen the investigation into the purported paper leak scam.In a related development, SIT on Thursday questioned 37 suspects in the alleged paper leak, it informed in a statement.Senior police officers have been assigned to supervise different components of the investigation to expedite the probe.The decision comes after fresh revelations during the interrogation of Abhay Tiwari, an accused in the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) recruitment irregularities case.Tiwari allegedly confessed that JSSC-CGL question paper has also been leaked, prompting investigators to widen the scope of the probe.Director general of police (DGP) Tadasha Mishra issued an order reconstituting the SIT, which is headed by inspector general (IG) (Jharkhand Jaguar) Anoop Birtharay.The expanded team has been tasked with examining all aspects of the alleged scam, including the paper leak, possible manipulation of the recruitment process, and the role of organised networks, officials said.SIT had earlier maintained that it had found no direct evidence of a paper leak in the CGL examination.However, during hearings in the matter, CID had sought permission from the Jharkhand high court to conduct further investigation, indicating that several leads were still being examined, sources said.Investigators suspect that a considerable number of candidates may have benefitted from the alleged leak.The strengthened SIT is now expected to identify such beneficiaries, establish their links with the accused, and initiate legal action wherever evidence is found, sources associated with the probe said.The expansion of SIT is being seen as a major escalation in the state’s efforts to uncover the full extent of the alleged recruitment scam, which has sparked widespread protests by job aspirants and fuelled persistent demands for a transparent and comprehensive investigation into the JSSC-CGL examination.
