10-12 more PSC officials involved in question leak, arrestees confess

Ten to twelve more officials of the Public Service Commission (PSC) were involved in leaking question papers of various government jobs tests, including that of the Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS), as confessed by six individuals arrested in a case in this connection.

The suspects include an assistant director-ranked official, a member and four other important post beares at the commission.

The six arrestees – PSC Office Assistant Khalilur Rahman, former driver of the commission Syed Abed Ali, Office Assistant (Dispatch Rider) Sajedul Islam, traders Sakhawat Hossain and Sayem Hossain and a youth named Liton Sarker – gave confessional statements to different Dhaka courts on Tuesday. They were arrested in a case filed by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

In his statement, Khalilur said he leaked questions of the 33rd BCS to 10 candidates, and of them three are currently serving at various cadres. Six of the candidates passed the written test, and three of them failed in the viva voce, he said.

Khalilur also confessed that he was involved in the recruitment of at least a few hundred employees – assistant upazila education officers and at Railways.

Khalilur said he used to introduce jobseekers to a former high-ranking officer of the PSC. If the green signal is received from the officer, the final decision on the financial transaction regarding the appointment would be made.

He further said a medical technologist of Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College, Niamul, had also helped him several times in leaking question papers.

The CID has started investigating the information obtained from Khalil. 

Besides , the PSC has decided to identify the suspected officials, against whom complaints of question paper leaks were raised at various times. Many of them have already been kept under the scanner of law enforcement agencies, said sources from the PSC and the CID.

Contacted, PSC Chairman Md Sohorab Hossain told The Business Standard, "The PSC maintains a rigorous stance on the issue of question leakage. Inquiries are being conducted about other officials who are involved in these incidents [question leak] 

Meanwhile, the PSC has written to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to investigate and take action against 5 PSC officials and employees who were arrested in a case filed on the charges of forgery and question leak in the sub-assistant engineer recruitment examination of Bangladesh Railway under the PSC on 5 July.