Railway officer's wife ran coaching classes that allegedly taught candidates how cheating would be facilitated during a Western Railway departmental promotion examination, including what support railway officials would provide on the day of the test and how to respond if questioned in a vigilance inquiry, the Central Bureau of Investigation has found.
The CBI registered the case after the Western Railway's vigilance department filed a complaint alleging irregularities in a computer-based examination held on 16 March 2024 for the post of staff welfare inspector, according to sources cited by the Times of India, which first reported the investigation.
Western Railway Promotion Exam Scam
The coaching classes were allegedly conducted from commercial premises rented by the wife of a senior railway officer, railway sources told TOI. The sessions were ostensibly focused on the examination syllabus but allegedly covered far more than that.
According to a senior railway officer quoted by TOI, candidates were told how cheating would be facilitated during the examination, what logistical support would be available from railway officials, and how to respond if questioned during a vigilance inquiry.
Candidates were also allegedly briefed on obtaining loans from a credit cooperative society before the examination to arrange funds for paying bribes, another railway officer told the publication.
Railway sources said the alleged price for securing promotion as a staff welfare inspector ranged between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 5 lakh depending on the candidate. Investigators suspect some candidates paid between Rs 3 lakh and Rs 5 lakh for favourable results.
Four Candidates Score Unusually High Marks
Of the 100 candidates who appeared for the examination, four railway employees scored in a narrow range of 87.67 per cent to 90.33 per cent, which the CBI flagged as exceptional and suspicious.
CBI sources said all four had allegedly obtained loans shortly before the examination. Financial transactions including ATM withdrawals and money transfers through relatives or friends were detected around the exam period, investigators found.
An internal inquiry had separately examined a spike in loan disbursals before departmental examinations, with investigators finding that several candidates had secured loans close to examination dates, a railway officer told TOI.
CBI Finds AnyDesk on Railway Exam Server
The investigation uncovered several procedural anomalies surrounding the examination itself.
The exam started nearly two hours behind schedule. The examination session remained active on the server for more than two days after completion instead of being closed immediately. CBI sources told TOI that both the delayed upload of the question paper and the prolonged server activity are among the issues under active investigation.
The agency also found that remote access software AnyDesk had been installed on the examination server, potentially allowing access to it after the test had ended. Investigators are further examining allegations that the server was subsequently formatted and that large unexplained credits were found in the bank accounts of some railway officials linked to the examination.
CBI Books Railway Officials Under Corruption Act
The CBI has booked senior railway officials, technical staff, clerical employees, and the four promoted welfare inspectors under charges of conspiracy and cheating, as well as provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The case is being investigated as a coordinated fraud involving the conduct of the examination, the manipulation of its results, and the financial transactions used to facilitate bribery across multiple levels of the railway administration.
(With inputs from The Times of India)
