As many as 52 among 545 police sub-inspector post candidates were permanently debarred on Wednesday after the investigation into the recruitment scam indicted them.
Director-General of Police (Recruitment) Kamal Pant issued the order after the chargesheet against the accused was filed.
The department also sought clarification from the accused before debarring them permanently from taking any exam conducted by the Police Department henceforth. Apart from debarring the 52 accused candidates permanently, cases have also been booked in Bengaluru, Kalaburagi, Hubballi-Dharwad, Tumakuru, and other parts of the State and FIRs have been filed against them.
The accused were allegedly found to have used Bluetooth devices and other electronic devices to commit malpractices during the exam, while some others tampered with the OMR sheets. Some candidates had even sent impersonators to write the exam on their behalf, a senior police officer said.
The PSI recruitment exam was conducted Statewide in October last year. Following large-scale malpractice, the CID took over the investigation and arrested the accused, including the then head of the recruitment division, for running the racket.
While 52 candidates have been debarred permanently, the fate of the remaining selected candidates is in limbo. Though the State government has cancelled the entire recruitment process, the court concerned recently asked the department to think of some alternatives for the selected candidates, a senior police officer said.
