LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh Economic Offences Wing (EOW) on Tuesday arrested three accused in connection with the alleged large-scale irregularities in the 2018 Village Development Officer (VDO) recruitment examination, taking forward its crackdown on suspects involved in recruitment fraud.The arrests were carried out under the agency’s ongoing drive, “Operation Shikanja”, aimed at tracing and apprehending wanted accused in examination scams. Officials said the trio had been evading arrest and were picked up from different districts on June 8 following specific intelligence inputs.The accused have been identified as Gangesh Kumar of Azamgarh, Vipin Chaudhary of Sant Kabir Nagar and Sushil Kumar of Jaunpur. Gangesh was arrested from Sidhari police station premises around 2.30 pm, Vipin was nabbed near a hospital in Khalilabad at about 7.20 pm, while Sushil was held from his native village close to 11 pm.The case relates to the recruitment examination conducted in 2018 by the Uttar Pradesh Subordinate Services Selection Commission (UPSSSC) for 1,953 posts, including VDO, Social Welfare Supervisor and Gram Panchayat Officer. The exam process had been outsourced to Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).Following complaints of irregularities and alleged manipulation, the state government handed over the probe to a Special Investigation Team (SIT), which was later merged into the EOW. A detailed investigation led to the registration of a case at Vibhuti Khand police station before a fresh FIR was lodged at the SIT police station under IPC sections related to forgery, falsification of records and criminal conspiracy.Investigators said analysis of witness statements, documents and technical evidence has so far revealed the involvement of as many as 173 accused. These include alleged middlemen, candidates, and certain officials and employees linked to the recruitment process.According to EOW officials, the accused were part of a wider conspiracy in which ineligible candidates were allegedly favoured by tampering with OMR answer sheets in exchange for money. The manipulation reportedly ensured inflated scores for selected candidates, depriving genuine aspirants of fair selection.The probe has pointed to collusion between insiders, intermediaries and beneficiaries, suggesting a well-organised network behind the fraud. Several accused have already been arrested in earlier phases of the investigation and sent to jail. In view of the extent of irregularities unearthed, the state government had cancelled the entire recruitment process.EOW officials said further investigations are underway to track down remaining absconding accused and gather additional evidence to strengthen prosecution.
