A year after topper crisis, more rot in Bihar

The BSSC scam blows the lid off the deep roots of corruption in the state

On June 8 last year, just a day after the Bihar government cancelled the 10+2 examination results of the science and arts toppers, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar thundered: “Let me assure you that no such thing will happen in the future. I am personally monitoring the matter.”

Eight months later, Kumar was forced to make the same promises, in the same style, though in the context of a different scam. This time it was the alleged irregularities in the Bihar Staff Selection Commission’s examination to recruit secretariat assistants, a clerical position.

It is alleged that the question papers were ferreted out before the examination and sold to the highest bidders. So far, almost three dozen people have been arrested by the Special Investigation Team formed to investigate the matter. Those arrested include senior IAS officer and BSSC Chairman Sudhir Kumar and BSSC Secretary Parmeshwar Ram.

BSSC was established in 2002 to conduct examinations for recruitment of government personnel in the lower ranks. So far it has conducted 15 examinations, out of which 12 were cancelled and examinees were required to take the test again.

The current scam is related to the recruitment of 10+2-pass secretariat assistants. BSSC advertised for 9,600 vacancies in 2014 and almost 2 million applied for it, but, according to BSSC officers, it couldn’t conduct the examination on time due to financial constraints.

The commission even decided to ask for extra money from the candidates, but was prevented from doing so. Six times the examination was postponed at the last moment.

Late last year, the state government decided to pitch in and assured all possible help to BSSC. The test was to be conducted in four phases and different sets of questions were to be asked on different dates. The examination was to start on January 29 and end on February 28.

On January 27, Patna Police busted a gang of professional criminals who claimed to have a copy of the question paper for army recruitment. However, the raiding party was shocked to find questions for the secretariat assistant examination on their mobile phones as well.

BSSC was quickly informed as the first round of examination was scheduled for January 29, but it brushed aside the information. Several newspapers and TV channels reported the widespread circulation of question papers on a messaging app. When asked about it, Ram said, 

“I don’t use that particular messaging app.”

Nitish Kumar

On February 4, just a day before the second round of examination, the police found out that a hand-written note was doing the rounds on social media. In the Nawada district, two dozen people were arrested with laptops, mobile phones and Bluetooth devices. They were also found to be in possession of the same hand-written note. The note was a 95 per cent match to the question paper. This time it wasn’t just the questions, the answer key was also leaked.

“This was highly unusual,” Patna Senior Superintendent of Police Manu Maharaaj says, “because the answer key was supposed to be locked in a highly secure vault in the BSSC office.”

As the news broke out, the examinees started to protest and demanded that the examination be scrapped and an investigation be ordered. However, BSSC remained defiant and maintained that “there is no substance in these malicious charges”.

Angry students started protesting right in front of the BSSC office near the Patna Airport. On February 7, as they were protesting at the gates of the recruitment agency, Ram tried to enter the compound and was assaulted by angry students in full view of the news cameras.

Horrified by the incident, the government quickly swung into action. By the end of the day, the chief minister had ordered the director general of police, P K Thakur, to launch a criminal investigation into the matter. Within 24 hours, the examination was scrapped.

Ram was arrested on February 10 along with half a dozen other accused. The call records, according to the police, indicate that Ram was in constant touch with those who leaked the question paper.

Moreover, analysis of his phone, the police claim, shows that no less than 100 roll numbers were “recommended” to him by two ministers, several MLAs from both sides of the aisle, many ex-ministers and one senior bureaucrat.

So far, 33 people have been taken into custody and call records of thousands of people are being analysed. The modus operandi of the question paper leak was quite simple. The police connected the dots after they took into custody someone who was found to be in possession of the question papers on January 27.

“We found that the key to the investigation was a coaching class owner from Bihta, near Patna,” says Maharaaj who is also heading the Special Investigation Team. “From what we know so far, it was a well-oiled network of BSSC employees and private players that leaked the questions to those who were willing to pay for it.”

The probe also suggests that the question paper was leaked from a private school in Patna. “Our investigation shows that despite several objections in the past about the school, it was still chosen as an examination centre. We believe the paper was leaked at a rate of Rs6 lakh per candidate. The question paper was then sent to their mobile phones on the eve of the examination,” Maharaaj adds.

About how the answer key was leaked, the police officer says, “We believe it was leaked even before the question paper. Five members of (BSSC Chairman) Sudhir Kumar’s immediate family were also appearing in the examination.”

The police arrested him on February 24. Sudhir Kumar was suspended by the state government on March 3.

Business Standard contacted him on February 19 to know his side of the story, but he refused to speak on the phone. When requested for a meeting, Sudhir Kumar said that he would call back after some time — he never called back.

According to the Special Investigation Team sources, one more IAS official is on its radar. He allegedly conspired to leak the papers and later destroyed the evidence. He is untraceable for more than one and a half months now. The state government advertised in the local newspapers, ordering him to report to duty.

The arrest and suspension of Sudhir Kumar, a senior bureaucrat, shook the entire bureaucracy in Bihar. The IAS Officers’ Association is considered the most powerful lobby in the state as it is said to have the unflinching support of Nitish Kumar.

However, Sudhir Kumar’s arrest put it in direct confrontation with the state’s political leadership. Soon thereafter, the Bihar chapter of IAS Officers’ Association called an emergency meeting and accused the police of vendetta. It also demanded a CBI inquiry into the matter.

For the first time in the history of Bihar, IAS officers took to the streets on February 26, veritably raising a banner of revolt. Several district magistrates, principal secretaries and secretaries formed a human chain in front of Raj Bhawan to show their support for Sudhir Kumar.

The Association even went on to threaten that “the IAS officials will not comply with the verbal instruction from any office, including the office of the chief minister.”

They decided to wear black armbands as a mark of protest till their demands were met. They also decided that no IAS officer will take over the post of BSSC chairman or  any technical recruitment agency in the future.

The state government was stunned by this protest. “I want people to understand that no leniency will be accepted while dealing with corruption. However, at the same time, no innocent can be prosecuted under my watch,” Nitish Kumar said in the state Assembly. He also vowed exemplary action would be taken on the agitation of the bureaucrats.

On March 16, the state government finally issued show-cause notices to the agitating officers. Eighteen district magistrates were asked to explain within 72 hours that on whose orders they left their respective headquarters to be in Patna on February 26. Bureaucrats, on the condition of anonymity, have complained that the state government is trying to intimidate them with the notice.

Many in the bureaucracy insist that Sudhir Kumar is being targeted because he is close to former chief minster Jitan Ram Manjhi. However, the government vehemently denies this charge.

Several leaders of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) used this opportunity to target Nitish Kumar. Finally, after Nitish Kumar openly expressed his displeasure, RJD  chief Lalu Prasad had to issue a gag order.

On the other hand, the partners in opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA) also crossed swords with each other on this matter. While BJP had been demanding the arrest of Sudhir Kumar from day one, its collation partner, Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM), has said that Sudhir Kumar is being targeted because he is a Dalit.

“The extent of the scam has gone beyond the state government’s hand. It will now try to cover the matter. There will be no comprise over it, we want a CBI inquiry,” says senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi.