Raipur, Sep 23 (IANS) The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Raipur Zonal Office, has filed a chargesheet before the Special Court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against Taman Singh Sonwani, the then Chairman of the Chhattisgarh Public Service Commission (CGPSC), Chetan Borghariya, the then OSD (Officer on Special Duty) in the chief minister’s office, and others.
The chargesheet relates to alleged money-laundering offences connected to the CGPSC recruitment scam, the ED said in a statement. The ED had earlier issued a provisional attachment order attaching movable and immovable properties worth Rs 47 lakh belonging to Sonwani, Utkarsh Chandrakar and others identified during the probe.
The investigation was launched on the basis of an FIR registered by the Economic Offences Wing/Anti-Corruption Bureau, Raipur, into large-scale corruption, manipulation and irregularities in the CGPSC State Service Examinations of 2020 and 2021.
The Central Bureau of Investigation subsequently took over the probe into the predicate offence, registered an FIR against Sonwani and others, and filed charge-sheets.
According to the ED, Utkarsh Chandrakar and his associates collected illegal gratification exceeding Rs 3 crore from various candidates appearing in the 2021 CGPSC State Service Examination. The money was taken on the assurance of providing question papers in advance and securing selection through purported access to and influence in the then chief minister’s office.
The investigation revealed that leaked question papers were supplied to selected candidates before the examinations. Candidates were assembled at Siddhi Vinayak Marriage Palace in Raipur prior to the Preliminary Examination, where the leaked papers were distributed. Later, they were accommodated at Barnawapara Sanctuary Resort, where coaching based on the leaked material for the Mains Examination was imparted.
The ED further found that Sonwani, while serving as CGPSC Chairman, manipulated the recruitment process to favour his relatives and other preferred candidates.
Sonwani was arrested on July 25, 2026, Chandrakar on September 1, 2026, and Borghariya on September 11, 2026, under Section 19 of the PMLA, 2002. Further investigation is in progress.
–IANS
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