Chhattisgarh Civil Services Exam Scam: CBI Files Final Chargesheet, 29 Named as Accused

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed its final chargesheet in the Chhattisgarh Public Service Commission (CGPSC) civil services recruitment scam, naming 29 individuals, including coaching institute operators, senior CGPSC officials, and candidates allegedly backed by political, bureaucratic, and business influence.

The chargesheet, running close to 400 pages, pertains to irregularities in the 2021 CGPSC recruitment process and alleges a systematic conspiracy to manipulate question papers, evaluations, and interviews to favour selected candidates.

Exam Papers Allegedly Leaked Before Mains

According to the CBI, days before the CGPSC mains examination, a coaching institute operator organised special preparatory sessions for select candidates at a hotel in the Mahasamund district.

Investigators allege that these sessions were conducted using prior access to leaked question papers, allowing favoured candidates — including relatives of influential business families and senior bureaucrats — to gain an unfair advantage and secure top administrative posts.

Key Accused and Arrests

Twelve of the accused are currently lodged in jail. These include businessman Shravan Goyal, members of his family, former CGPSC chairman Taman Singh Sonwani, and former examination controller Aarti Wasnik.

The chargesheet also names Utkarsh Chandrakar as an absconding accused. The CBI said efforts are ongoing to trace and arrest him.

As per the investigation, 13 of the top 20 successful candidates were allegedly linked to powerful business houses, political leaders, or serving and retired government officials.

How the Question Papers Were Allegedly Leaked

The CBI has accused Aarti Wasnik of directly leaking the CGPSC question papers and facilitating their duplication. According to the agency, the question papers were printed by a Kolkata-based firm and transported to Raipur in January 2021 by an employee identified as Mahesh Das.

The documents were allegedly handed over to key conspirators, copied, and then resealed before being returned for official use, allowing the leak to go undetected during the examination process.

Influence Extended to Interviews

The chargesheet further claims that Shravan Goyal’s daughter-in-law, Bhumi Katiyar, and his son, Shashank Goyal, were appointed as deputy collectors after benefiting from the leaked material.

Investigators allege that the manipulation did not end with written examinations but extended to the interview stage as well, undermining merit-based selection and disadvantaging genuinely qualified candidates.

Scale of the Recruitment Scam

The case relates to 171 posts filled through the CGPSC 2021 recruitment cycle. A total of 2,565 candidates cleared the preliminary examination held on February 13, 2022.

Of these, 509 candidates qualified the mains examination conducted in May 2022. Following interviews, the final list of selected candidates was released on May 11, 2023.

The CBI has stated that the chargesheet contains detailed documentary and testimonial evidence pointing to a coordinated conspiracy involving CGPSC officials, coaching institute operators, and preferred candidates.

With the filing of the final chargesheet, the agency said the trial is expected to begin soon, marking a critical step toward accountability in one of Chhattisgarh’s biggest recruitment scams.