Ranchi, July 23 (IANS) The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Jharkhand police on Thursday conducted a raid at the Kanke Road residence of L. Khiangte, former Chief Secretary of the state and immediate past Chairman of the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC), as part of its probe into alleged irregularities in the 14th Combined Civil Services Examination.
A CID team, accompanied by police personnel, visited Khiangte’s residence and examined documents and records related to the JPSC. However, no official information has yet been released regarding any material recovered during the search.
The action is linked to an FIR registered following the controversy surrounding the results of the 14th Combined Civil Services Preliminary Examination. The CID has registered Case No. 16/2026 and is investigating various aspects of the examination process.
Earlier, on July 21, acting on directions from the state government, a joint team of the CID and Ranchi Police conducted simultaneous raids at multiple locations, including the JPSC headquarters and the office of the examination-conducting agency.
During the operation, investigators seized examination-related documents, computer records, hard disks, pen drives and other digital evidence.
Later that night, L. Khiangte resigned from his post as JPSC Chairman. Based on preliminary findings, the CID registered an FIR on July 22 and arrested five individuals.
Those arrested include JPSC Deputy Examination Controller Shweta Kumari Gupta, TDPL Director Ramveer Singh, and company associates Mohd Usman, Mohd Ebad and Abhay Kumar Tiwari.
All the accused were produced before a court on Wednesday and remanded to judicial custody.
According to sources, investigators are examining the conduct of the examination, the process of preparing results, management of digital data, and the role of various officials and the agency involved in key decisions related to the examination. The raid on Khiangte’s residence is part of this broader investigation.
The controversy erupted after the results of the 14th JPSC Preliminary Examination were declared, with candidates alleging irregularities, lack of transparency and procedural lapses in the examination process.
Following the allegations, the state government handed over the probe to the CID for a detailed investigation.
The Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) also postponed the 14th Combined Civil Services Main Examination-2025 until further orders and decided to defer all examinations scheduled in the near future under its Examination Calendar-2026.
–IANS
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