Shillong: Jharkhand state police arrested former Jharkhand Public Service Commission chairman L. Khiangte on Monday. The Criminal Investigation Department took him into custody following a probe into a merit scam surrounding the 14th Civil Services Preliminary Examination. Investigators claim Khiangte bypassed standard rules to grant an exam contract to a Lucknow-based firm, TSR Data Processing Private Limited.
This company, known as TDPL, was already blacklisted by the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission in May 2025. Despite this history, the firm secured the JPSC contract through a nomination process instead of open bidding. Abhay Tiwari, the marketing manager for TDPL, previously confessed to CID interrogators that the company paid for the work. He stated, "Khiangte allegedly accepted a bribe of around Rs 2 crore from the company in exchange for awarding the contract." Tiwari also alleged the former chairman took a 20 percent commission from the total contract value.
The investigation spanned 30 hours of questioning over four sessions. Officials discovered that the JPSC Controller of Examinations had submitted a formal written objection regarding TDPL. The Controller explicitly warned senior leadership about the May 2025 blacklist. Khiangte claimed he did not know about the company's status and blamed administrative errors. CID teams raided his residence on Kanke Road and the JPSC headquarters to seize documents and digital devices.
Nineteen people are in custody now. Notable arrests include JPSC Deputy Controller of Examinations Shweta Kumari Gupta, TDPL Director Ramvir Singh, Abhay Tiwari, and the former chairman's computer operator. Authorities have sealed TDPL offices in Ranchi and Lucknow. The CID continues to hunt for others involved in the syndicate behind these exam irregularities.
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