Rs 45 lakh, CSR funding and exam selections: ED details alleged money trail in CGPSC scam

Raipur: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has alleged that former Chhattisgarh Public Service Commission (CGPSC) chairman Taman Singh Sonwani received Rs 45 lakh through an institution under his control in connection with alleged favour shown to a businessman’s son and daughter-in-law in the 2021 state service examination.

According to the agency’s first prosecution complaint filed before a special court in Raipur, the payment was presented as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funding.

The ED has so far quantified the alleged proceeds of crime in the case at Rs 3.28 crore. 

The prosecution complaint names seven accused, including Sonwani, Shri Bajrang Power and Ispat Ltd director Shravan Goyal, former CGPSC Deputy Controller of Examinations Lalit Ganvir, Utkarsh Chandrakar, his brother-in-law Anil Chandrakar, medical officer Dr Vikas Chandrakar and Additional Collector Chetan Borghariya.

The ED's investigation concerns alleged corruption, question paper leaks and manipulation of CGPSC examinations conducted in 2020 and 2021 for recruitment to posts including deputy collector and deputy superintendent of police.

At the centre of the latest allegations is Gramin Vikas Samiti (GVS), an institution controlled by Sonwani.

The ED alleges that Shri Bajrang Power and Ispat Ltd transferred Rs 45 lakh to GVS through its CSR mechanism in two instalments of Rs 20 lakh and Rs 25 lakh.

The agency claims the funding was shown as a legitimate institutional contribution, while allegedly representing payment made in consideration of favourable treatment in the examination.

The ED has alleged that the beneficiary candidates were Shashank Goyal, son of businessman Shravan Kumar Goyal, and his wife Bhumika Katiyar.

According to the prosecution complaint, the two secured third and fourth ranks respectively in the examination.

The agency has also referred to the selection of several of Sonwani’s relatives.

His nephews Nitesh Sonwani and Sahil Sonwani were selected as deputy collector and deputy superintendent of police, respectively, while his nieces-in-law Misha Kosle and Deepa Adil were selected as deputy collector and district excise officer.

The ED has alleged that Sonwani’s position as CGPSC chairman, his involvement in applications made in the name of GVS and his control over the institution established his alleged role in receiving and using the money.

The agency has also alleged that Lalit Ganvir occupied the post of CGPSC Deputy Controller of Examinations from December 2020 while simultaneously serving as treasurer of GVS and as a joint authorised signatory of its Bank of Maharashtra account.

According to the ED, the alleged corruption generated money through two separate channels. The first involved the Rs 45 lakh payment allegedly routed through GVS.

The second involved direct collections from candidates and their families on promises of access to examination papers and securing selection.

The agency has quantified the second stream at Rs 3.13 crore. It has clarified that Rs 72.18 lakh deposited into Utkarsh Chandrakar’s bank account represented part of this amount and was therefore not treated as an additional proceeds-of-crime figure.

Similarly, Rs 69.85 lakh deposited into Borghariya’s accounts was identified by the ED as alleged proceeds in his possession.

The agency claims candidates were allegedly asked to pay between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 60 lakh for access to examination papers and assured selection.

The ED has alleged that Dr Vikas Chandrakar acted as a recruiter and aggregator, approaching candidates and their families and collecting money.

Statements recorded during the investigation allegedly indicate that around Rs 3.20 crore was carried by him to Anil Chandrakar and Utkarsh Chandrakar, including money he allegedly borrowed when candidates failed to make full payments.

The agency has also cited bank transactions as part of its money trail, including transfers of Rs 9.90 lakh on April 8, 2022, and Rs 5.10 lakh on April 11, 2022, from Anil Chandrakar’s account to Utkarsh Chandrakar.

Sonwani, who headed the CGPSC between 2020 and 2023, was arrested by the ED in July as part of its money laundering investigation.

The agency’s probe followed cases registered by the Chhattisgarh Economic Offences Wing, state police and the CBI.

The CBI had also arrested Sonwani in 2024 in connection with the recruitment scam.

Earlier this month, the ED arrested Borghariya and Utkarsh Chandrakar. Borghariya had served as an Officer on Special Duty in the then chief minister’s office and is currently an Additional Collector in Balrampur-Ramanujganj.

Utkarsh Chandrakar is the nephew of K K Chandravanshi, who served as a personal assistant to former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel.

The allegations form part of the wider investigation into alleged manipulation of the CGPSC recruitment process, with the ED now tracing both the alleged examination-related payments and the financial channels through which the money was purportedly routed.