Author: S Ahmed Ali
Publication: The Indian Express
Date: December 28, 2003
URL: http://www.indianexpress.com/archive_full_story.php?content_id=38116
Godse exposed Maharashtra's cash-for-jobs
scam in MPSC
Before Abdul Karim Telgi hit the
headlines again, Maharashtra's scandal of the season was the MPSC scam.
The cash-for- appointments racket had landed several bigwigs of the state
Public Service Commission, including its head S D Karnik, in jail.
The story of the scandal played
out for months. But what went unnoticed was the death of a man whose complaint
blew the lid off the scandal. Rajendra Godse was 28, he had been selected
as a tehsildar and his body was found on the railway tracks at Wathar in
Satara district on June 3, 2002.
The racket was exposed in 2002 when
Seema Dhumdhere, secretary of the Maharashtra Public Service Commission
(MPSC), received a letter from Godse in which he alleged that there were
serious irregularities in the recruitment of government servants. Seven
others had filed similar complaints.
Dhumdhere then forwarded his letter
to the anti-corruption bureau (ACB) in Mumbai. The bureau, after an investigation,
unearthed the scam. Top MPSC officials were then arrested for taking money
and fixing exams. Chairman S D Karnik, controller of exams Sudhakar Sarode
and commission member Sayalee Joshi are behind bars for their role in the
scam.
Sitting in his crumbling home in
Laxmi Nagar village, south-west of Mumbai, Godse's father wants a CBI probe.
A few days before his death, Rameshwar Godse remembers his son coming home,
looking scared. ''He told me three men were in his pursuit.''
Godse's body was recovered on June
3, 2002. It's only now that the ACB, suspecting foul play, has registered
a case of murder. ACB investigating officer Sudharkar Poojari, who confirmed
Godse's death, refused to elaborate on the investigations. ACB Additional
Director General Anil Dhere said he didn't know ''the exact details of
the case but the concerned police station (Wathar in Satara district) is
undecided about Godse's death and our investigations are on.''
Laxmi Nagar is a sleepy hamlet,
150 km from Solapur, with a population of around 1,000. This was Godse's
home. ''I don't know who killed him, but I am sure there might be some
powerful forces behind his death. He knew what was happening at MPSC,"
said the father. Traumatised by Godse's death, his younger brother Balchandra
has given up his studies. The family is trying to make ends meet by milking
their pomegranate crop. But the area has been reeling under a dry spell
for over three years.
Even a year after his murder, Godse's
former roommate (at an Ahmednagar hostel) spoke to Express on conditions
of anonymity. "Godse was very intelligent," he said. "The problem started
when his name didn't appear in the initial MPSC pass list. He went to Mumbai
where he was told there had been some problem scanning his application.
He was told he had cleared the written exams, and he was called for the
interview and medical test."
Godse's death throws up many questions.
Officials are not willing to answer any. The ACB's report, made available
to the Express, says clearly Godse's death was in "suspicious" circumstances.
It also says it was alleged that Godse was acting as a conduit for S D
Karnik (former MPSC chairman) and Sayalee Joshi. Also, that Godse had threatened
Joshi, then MPSC member, with exposing her role in the recruitment scam,
when he was selected for the post of a tehsildar. The ACB report, however,
says this allegation would be investigated, as the bureau felt it was a
move by MPSC staffers to buy time.
The ACB asked the MPSC for details
on Godse on December 12, 2002; the response came after five months.
