Former Army officer moves CBI alleging tampering with selection process

A former Army officer, who had lodged a protest over the alleged last-minute tampering with selection norms, has approached the CBI with details on how minimum qualification marks were allegedly lowered and rules changed a day before the results were to be finalised to favour a candidate’s entry into the Territorial Army (TA). Lt Col (retd) Channpreet Singh, who was posted as Group Testing Officer (GTO) in the Service Selection Board (SSB), Allahabad, had raised a red flag on the alleged wrongful selection of a candidate, who was also the son of a senior general officer responsible for overseeing military recruitment.

Confirming the same, Singh told ET: “The incident happened in May 2015 and I left no stone unturned to bring this irregularity to the notice of the highest quarters in my organisation but to no avail. Finally, my conscience did not allow me to continue further because the organisation did not do enough to ensure that someone who used unfair means to become an officer at the expense of someone’s merit was not stripped off the ill-earned commission.”

Singh, who resigned from the Army in 2017, recorded the aberrations within 10 days of the incident in a letter dated May 19, 2015, to his commandant. First, an exception to include a candidate for TA in a batch meant for the Army Cadet College, a special entry designed only for serving Army soldiers who aspire to join the officer cadre. Second, lowering the selection benchmark: “Urgency for lowering the datum of discussion marks to 224 knowing very well that the batch for which the candidate had initially applied in 2014 was concluded with the said datum at 240,” he wrote.

Two months after he raised the issue, the then Adjutant General acknowledged the same through aletter dated July 10, 2015. “Having perused through the events that have been highlighted in your DO, the following instructions have been conveyed - To revert to the datum of JAG, AEC and TA entries at 240,” he wrote, adding: “Clubbing of batches or candidates should not be undertaken.

Exception, if any, should be formally approved by competent authority on a case-to-case basis.” Though vindicated for the stand he took, Singh felt that no meaningful action like censuring the officials involved or reversing the said selection was ever carried out. “The issue, I feel, remains unaddressed till date. And after I read about the FIR registered by the CBI in the SSB recruitment scandal, I found this an opportunity to assist an investigation into what has been conveniently brushed under the carpet.” Singh has approached the CBI through his legal representative, Col (retd) Mukul Dev. Confirming the development, Dev told ET: “My sole endeavour is that the CBI should not confine its scope of investigation to the (existing) SSB recruitment scandal.

There is a larger malaise which needs an in-depth probe.” On why he had not approached the CBI so far, Singh said he had flagged the issue to all his seniors, from his commandant to the then Chief of Army staff. “A handful of rotten apples should not be allowed to sully the image of such an esteemed organisation. It is these apples which should not be allowed to rot the organisation.” Meanwhile, the CBI last week conducted searches at 30 locations in 13 cities and is actively pursuing leads to stitch up necessary evidence against the 17 officers named in the FIR. These include six officers of Lt Col rank, including a GTO and an officer of the Recruitment Directorate.