‘Family members selected to Chhattisgarh civil service posts’, ex-IAS officer among 5 arrested

The arrested persons were identified as former IAS officer Jeevan Kishore Dhruv, who served as CGPSC secretary; Arti Wasnik, a former Controller of Examination in CGPSC; Sumit Dhruv and Misha Kosle, who were both posted as Deputy Collectors; and Deepa Adil, a district Excise officer.

A CBI press release said Sumit Dhruv is Jeevan Kishore Dhruv’s son, and Misha Kosle and Deepa Adil are daughters-in-law of former CGPSC chairperson Taman Singh Sonwani’s brother. Sonwani had already been arrested in the case.

The CBI registered an FIR on July 9, last year, after the Chhattisgarh government asked the central agency to take over the case. In the FIR, it is alleged that the former CGPSC Chairman, Secretary, and other officials had conducted examinations and interviews, and facilitated the selection of their relatives to various posts.

A total of 1,29,206 candidates appeared in the preliminary examination for different posts in CGPSC. Out of these, 2,548 candidates cleared the prelims, and 509 cleared the mains, after which they were selected to appear for interviews. A total of 170 candidates were eventually selected to occupy various posts in CGPSC in 2021.

Along with the then CGPSC Chairman Sonwani, a former Deputy Controller of Examinations, four selected candidates, and one other person had been arrested in this case previously and are in judicial custody.