Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 2 : In a shocking revelation the Anti- Corruption Bureau (ACB) today said that 109 candidates secured lower marks than the cutoff marks in the job test for the Fire & Emergency Services in 2020, but were selected by showing them to have secured higher marks in the final selection list than the marks actually secured by them.
An investigation by the ACB, has revealed that the probe agency found that five siblings from Budgam district, along with relatives of officials from the Fire and Emergency Services (F&ES) Department and candidates from the same localities, figured in the selection list.
An ACB statement issued here said that a manual review of the OMR sheets vis-a-vis answer keys revealed discrepancies in the selection process.
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In this regard, the matter was initially enquired in this Bureau which revealed that in the year 2013, Chairman, Departmental Recruitment Board (DRB), Fire & Emergency Services, J&K, had issued an Advertisement Notice No. 01 of 2013 dated 12-03-2013 for the posts of Fireman/Fireman Drivers and other tradesmen posts.
Later, the process was terminated due to discrepancies.
In 2018, a new process was initiated following a court order, with a transparent recruitment process (TRP) agency hired to oversee the physical and written exams. However, the first TRP agency, M/s Timing Technologies India Pvt. Ltd. was replaced due to allegations of mass copying during the exams.
In 2020, the Directorate issued a tender for a new TRP agency. The L-1 bidder, M/s UMC Technology Pvt. Ltd., was initially selected but was bypassed in favor of the L-2 bidder, M/s LMES IT LLP.
The accused Firm has also conducted recruitments and entrance tests in colleges and universities in J&K which are also being probed by the ACB.
The CBI had already registered FIRs against different TRP Firms in PSI and JE examination, meaning thereby that no examination can be stated to have been conducted in a transparent manner and chances of undeserving being selected in gazetted and non gazetted posts can’t be ruled out.
This decision raised concerns, as LMES was a newly formed company with little experience and had ties to a person previously involved in a controversial agency.
The investigation uncovered numerous discrepancies in the selection list.
Some candidates were shown to have secured higher marks than they actually did, including instances where candidates who should not have passed were selected.
There were also allegations of favoritism, with multiple family members and locals being selected.
The case involves accusations of officials from the Departmental Recruitment Board, the Technical Committee, and F&ES department officers, as well as M/s LMES IT LLP and its partner Maharaj Krishan Wali, colluding to manipulate the recruitment process for personal gains.
The TRP agency was allegedly awarded the contract unfairly and the selection list was fabricated.
The actions are punishable under Sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and the Indian Penal Code, including charges of bribery, conspiracy and falsification of records.
ACB worked day and night and completed the initial probe in a professional manner in the shortest possible time before recommending the FIR.
As a result, the ACB Central has filed an FIR No. 01/2025, to investigate the matter further.
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