Jharkhand job scam: Ex-official’s house attached

RANCHI - The house of an absconding former member of the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) in Godda district was Sunday attached by the vigilance bureau for his alleged role in the illegal appointment of civil servants in 2006-07, an official said.

Gopal Prasad is accused of helping his relatives and the kin of politicians and members of the JPSC in getting appointed as administrative officers through illegal means. The scandal came to be known as the appointment scam.

Based on the vigilance probe, 39 administrative officers were sacked last year.

A vigilance bureau team Sunday attached Prasad’s house at Lohianagar of Godda district, around 500 km from Ranchi.

The vigilance bureau attached his property with court permission as he has failed to surrender in the case. An arrest warrant is pending against Prasad, who is absconding for more than one year.

In the second JPSC examination held in 2006-07, 180 civil servants were appointed. Many of them were relatives of politicians and members of the JPSC, the investigating agency said.

The vigilance bureau lodged a first information report (FIR) June 12, 2010 against 32 people under different Indian Penal Code sections, including cheating and forgery.

The FIR also named Dileep Prasad, former chairman of the JPSC who surrendered Friday, three former members of the commission - Radhagovind Nagesh, Shanti Devi and Gopal Singh - and others.