Jail recruitment scandal: ACB conducts raids at 41 places

Nagpur, Nov 24 (UNI) Sleuths of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) here carried out simultaneous raids at 41 residential premises, including those of some present and retired jail staff, in Nagpur, Chandrapur and Bhandara today in connection with the alleged irregularities in the recruitment of guards and clerks at the Central Jail in Nagpur in March 2005. made because of a court order.

Among the premises raided were the residences of the present Jail Superintendent and other staff of Nagpur Central Jail, besides three retired officials who were working there at the time of the scandal, however, no arrests have been according to Additional Superintendent of Police, ACB Kishore Bele.

Mr Bele said that the staff of Nagpur Central Jail whose residences were raided were Jail Superintendent Vinod Visnhu Shekdar, personal assistant Bhaskar Ramkrishna Ninawe and lower division clerk Shrikant Ramchandra Rode.

Besides, raids were carried out at the residential premises of Vasant Damodar Tikle, the then Prison Officer Grade I, and Dr Vilas Dattatraya Bhalekar, the then Medical Officer at the Nagpur Jail he added.

Raids were also conducted at the residences of D M Jadhav, the then in-charge Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), Prisons, Nagpur, Namdeo Krishnarao Ugemuge, the then Jail Superintendent at Nagpur, and Ashok Krishnarao Kadu, the then Jail Superintendent at Yavatmal. All the three have since retired, Mr Bele said.

In addition, the ACB raided the homes of 33 candidates who are believed to have benefited from the irregularities, he added.

However, no arrests had been made in this connection because of a court order requiring the police to give 72 hours notice before arresting any of the accused, he also said. The raids were carried out to search for documents pertaining to the scandal, but none were found, Mr Bele told UNI.

The relevant papers had been taken into possession during an earlier enquiry, which had found prima-facie evidence of the irregularities, he added.

Mr Bele said raids were carried out in connection with the large-scale irregularities during the recruitment of guards and clerks for Nagpur Central Jail in March 2005, wherein the accused officials illegally increased the marks in the physical and oral examinations to make ineligible candidates eligible. The officials had, thus, indulged in criminal misconduct and abused their position as public servants, he said.

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