Scams that rocked everyone

The BJP-led state government has tripped on graft allegations, and the corruption chorus by the opposition crested this year

PSI pandemonium

Trouble began for the Bommai administration when a group of students who appeared for Police Sub-Inspector (PSI) recruitment exam alleged that there had been cheating that had cost them jobs. The exam had happened in October 2021 and results appeared on January 20, quickly followed by objections.

One candidate Mohan Kumar rightly pointed out that the candidates from one exam centre in Kalaburagi – Jnana Jyoti English medium school – had cleared the tests in unusually large numbers. Others noted the disparity in candidates’ performance, who had done poorly in paper 1 had done well in paper 2. More exam centres came under the scanner.

More than 54,000 aspirants had appeared for the exams, but only 545 posts were up for grabs. Surprisingly, State Home Minister Araga Jnanendra claimed there were no irregularities in the Assembly back in March. Several students had cases registered against them.

Fast forward to April, CID raided the house of the former BJP women’s wing in Kalaburagi district, Divya Hagaragi who runs the Jnana Jyoti school. Talk of police complicity gained traction and Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Amrit Paul was arrested on July 4 in the scam wherein Rs100 crore had allegedly exchanged hands.

Deputy Superintendent of Police (DYSP) Shantha Kumar is another accused in the case. Block Congress president Mahanthesh D Patil, his brother Rudragouda Patil, Lingasur DYSP Mallikarjun Sali, is among others who stand accused.

BJP Kanakagiri MLA Basavaraj Dadesugur has been accused of accepting money and not delivering a job to an aspirant but witness had turned hostile in the case. Over 100 have been arrested in the case so far.

NGO found illegally collecting voter details

A joint investigation conducted by the website The News Minute and the Kannada outlet Pratidvani, found out that the NGO Chilume Educational Cultural and Rural Development Institute had collected personal details of thousands of voters in Bengaluru city by way of a Government Order (GO), which was later withdrawn.

The details included name, religion, caste, gender, marital status etc. Cumulatively, the details would amount to invaluable data that candidates could buy in theory. The exercise began in August in Mahadevapura Assembly and then was extended to all 28 constituencies of Bengaluru city by way of another GO.

Interestingly, Chilume did this under the SVEEP (Systematic Voters Education and Electoral Participation) and uploaded the details not on the government Garuda website but their personal app. Chilume workers were found to have posed as Block Level Of ficers (BLOs).

Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and Election Commission (EC) had been accused of looking the other way as this happened. Congress had accused CM Bommai of voter fraud and demanded his arrest.

HDK, Ashwath spar over BMS Trust

There was no love lost between the two-time chief minister HD Kumaraswamy and Higher Education minister Ashwath Narayan as the former demanded that the latter quit over improprieties surrounding the running of BMS Trust.

BMS Educational Trust (BMSET) runs institutions in Bengaluru and was formed in 1957 by BS Narayan, son of B M Srinivasaiah. Kumaraswamy alleged that Narayan colluded with private parties and helped a public charitable Trust to be converted into a private one thereby weakening the State Government’s role in the functioning of the Trust.

Kumaraswamy, following his expose on the last day of the monsoon session back in September, demanded that all the assets of the trust should be confiscated by the State government.