Jharkhand recruitment scam: Kingpin alleges CDPO seats were sold for Rs 10 lakh

Prime accused Abhay Kumar Tiwari has allegedly told the Jharkhand CID that several general-category CDPO seats were rigged in exchange for money. Investigators are verifying his claims, including alleged payments to intermediaries and manipulation of interview boards

Ranchi: The confession of prime accused Abhay Kumar Tiwari before the CID, which is investigating irregularities in recruitment examinations in Jharkhand, has brought to light several startling claims.

Tiwari told investigators that almost all general category seats in the Child Development Project Officer (CDPO) examination held in 2026 were rigged to secure appointments for candidates from other states in exchange for money.

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According to the accused’s statement, the outsourcing agency, TSR Data Processing Private Limited (TDPL), which conducted the examination, had fixed a rate of at least Rs 10 lakh per candidate. Tiwari had worked as a marketing manager at TDPL. Following his confession, the CID has expanded the scope of its investigation.

The investigating agency is now trying to determine how many candidates paid bribes for CDPO recruitment, through which intermediaries the transactions were carried out, and at what stage of the examination and interview process the manipulation took place.

According to CID sources, Tiwari has also revealed the involvement of former JPSC Chairman L. Khiangte and then-member Ajita Bhattacharya.

The accused claimed that a ‘setting’ was made in the interview boards to favour certain candidates. Referring to a candidate identified as ‘Rajak’ in his statement, Tiwari claimed that the candidate’s interview board was headed by the then-Chairman L. Khiangte. He further said that the arrangement was made through a person named Ramveer Singh for Rs 15 lakh.

Similarly, in the case of another successful candidate, Kajal Bharti, Tiwari claimed that her interview board was headed by Ajita Bhattacharya and that Rs 10 lakh was paid to her personal assistant. His statement also mentioned the names of candidates Pramod Kumar Pathak and Kumari Dolly Jaiswal.

According to Tiwari, an ITI project manager identified as ‘Krishna’ acted as a middleman in both cases.

It is noteworthy that former JPSC Chairman L. Khiangte has already been arrested in connection with the case and is currently in jail. The CID has also questioned former JPSC member Ajita Bhattacharya. Investigators are now verifying Tiwari’s statements with independent evidence.

The CID is examining alleged financial transactions, call detail records, digital evidence, bank account movements and original records related to the examinations and interviews to establish the claims on the basis of legally admissible evidence.

If the allegations made by Tiwari are corroborated during the investigation, the scope of the Jharkhand recruitment scam could widen further and potentially implicate more officials and intermediaries.