The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday (2nd November) summoned two sons of Rajasthan Congress Chief Govind Singh Dotasara, Abhilash, and Avinash for their alleged involvement in the paper leak case. This comes a week after the ED conducted raids on the homes of Rajasthan PCC Chief Govind Singh Dotasara and another MLA Omprakash Hudla in connection with an exam paper leak case. The previous raids were conducted on 26 October.
Dotasara, the Congress party’s candidate for Sikar’s Lacchmangarh seat, is contesting against BJP candidate Subhash Maharia. The leader is the incumbent MLA for this constituency. Meanwhile, Rajasthan minister and Congress leader Pratap Khachariyawas commented on the issue and said that the entire Congress party stands with Dotasara.
#WATCH | Rajasthan minister and Congress leader Pratap Khachariyawas says, "Congress party stands with Govind Singh Dotasara." pic.twitter.com/2Tv9zKVkJE
— ANI (@ANI) November 2, 2023
After the raids that happened on 26th October, Dotasara claimed that ED officials did not question him or take his statement. He went on to say that they didn’t even take Re 1 or find any illegal documents. All they took were his and his sons’ phones, as well as the emails on a pen drive.
He claimed that the ED came to his house to search it in connection with the paper leak case, but “the search warrant was in the name of my son Avinash Dotasra, who is an Accounts Officer.” Apart from Dotasra’s homes in Jaipur and Sikar, as well as his political office, he claims the ED also searched the apartments of his two sons, who live on the same property.
The Congress chief added that people keep connecting him and his family to Kalam Academy, a coaching institute searched by the ED earlier in connection with the paper leaks case, but he, his sons, and any of his family members and relatives have no connection with the institute. He also stated that the ED was unable to locate any documentation or evidence for the same.
In August, the ED raided Kalam Academy’s Sikar branch. The Dotasra family’s hometown is Sikar, and his Assembly constituency of Laxmangarh is also in Sikar district.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had also previously arrested former RPSC member Babulal Katara and another person identified as Anil Kumar Meena for their involvement with this case. As part of its ongoing investigation, the ED conducted initial raids in various locations throughout Rajasthan in June.
Notably, the Enforcement Directorate has been actively investigating money laundering aspects related to the leak of Grade II teacher competitive examination question papers in December of the previous year. A total of 55 people were apprehended in connection with the paper leak case, including 37 candidates. According to the ED’s investigations, at least 180 candidates received the leaked question papers in exchange for amounts ranging from Rs 8 lakh to Rs 10 lakh each.
In addition to Babulal Katara and Anil Kumar Meena, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) imprisoned another individual named Bhupendra Saran, who was involved in the paper leak racket. Saran was charged with money laundering as part of the investigation.
ED official arrested for demanding bribe
In another shocking case emerging from the state of Rajasthan, the Rajasthan anti-corruption unit (ACB) arrested an ED official identified as Naval Kishore Meena for demanding a bribe of Rs 15 lakh, along with his associate Babulal Meena.
Naval Kishore Meena and Babulal Meena are accused of accepting a bribe in a Manipur chit fund case. According to an official statement issued by the Rajasthan ACB, the ED officers accepted the bribe in exchange for dismissing the case, not arresting the suspects, and seizing the property.
The initial demand was for a bribe of Rs 17 lakh, according to the statement. The arrest came after the Rajasthan ACB raided several locations in Rajasthan in connection with the investigation.
Naval Kishore Meena was apprehended by the Rajasthan ACB after being caught in a case of income disparity against a known source of earnings.
