CBI blast multi-crore scam in railway recruitment

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday unearthed a multi-crore scam related to recruitment in railways, exposing a major hole in what was touted as a failsafe scheme for appointments by the country’s largest employer. Those who have been nabbed include the son of S M Sharma, chairman of the Railway Recruitment Board, Mumbai, who used the huge funds acquired by leaking exam papers to buy a a Mitsubishi Pajero. The other accused are A K Jagannathan, former assistant divisional rail manager, and his son Srujan. Railway Recruitment Boards — in all 20 — are responsible for recruiting around 50,000 employees for jobs, including drivers, guards and assistant station masters having a direct bearing for the safety of passengers. The recruitment procedure was revamped following complaints of largescale corruption and favouritism. The Mumbai scam shows that the process is still not foolproof and that the functionaries of the notoriously corrupt Recruitment Boards know how to exploit the vulnerabilities.