The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Uttar Pradesh on Friday arrested six individuals wanted in the high-profile 2018 Village Development Officer (VDO) recruitment scam, a massive examination fraud that involved manipulation of OMR sheets and collusion across multiple levels of the recruitment chain.
The accused were identified as Kuldeep Kumar from Malihabad in Lucknow, Surya Prakash Singh from Barabanki, Rinku Yadav from Varanasi, Ajay Kumar Yadav from Jankipuram in Lucknow, Sarvesh Kumar from Jalaun, and Nidesh Gangwar from Bareilly.
These arrests were made as part of Operation Shikanja, an intensified campaign by the EOW to trace and apprehend absconding conspirators involved in the multi-crore examination scam.
In 2018, the UPSSSC announced one of its largest recruitment drives, advertising 1,953 posts for Village Development Officer (VDO), Gram Panchayat Officer, and Social Welfare Supervisor. The written exam was outsourced to Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).
However, soon after the results were announced, numerous candidates reported irregularities, including mass copying, paper leaks, and OMR sheet tampering. Responding to widespread complaints, the Uttar Pradesh government transferred the case to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the EOW in Lucknow.
According to EOW IG Sunil Emmanuel, investigators uncovered a sophisticated racket operating both within and outside the official examination framework. Several Commission officials and employees allegedly worked in tandem with touts and private agents. Key TCS staff with access to OMR sheets and data systems are accused of illegally retrieving stored OMR sheets, changing answer markings, overwriting bubbles, and awarding inflated scores to pre-selected candidates.
An FIR was first registered at Vibhuti Khand police station, Lucknow, before the case was handed over to the SIT. After reviewing statements, seized documents, forensic reports and digital evidence, the EOW confirmed the criminal involvement of 173 individuals. Currently, around 15 accused remain in police custody as the investigation continues.
