Jaipur: Rajasthan anti-corruption bureau (ACB) has arrested three assessors of Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) after they were allegedly caught red-handed taking bribe from a coaching institute in Rajasthan’s Sikar town.
Those arrested assessors are on contract of a private company Aspiring Minds based in Gurugram (Gurgaon). The company has a tender of appointing its employees or assessors or invigilators to evaluate skills learnt by students under the scheme, ACB officials said.
According to ACB, add SP Prithviraj Meena who organized the trap, the owner of A-One Coaching Centre situated in Choudhary Charan Singh Nagar in Sikar approached the ACB complaining that three assessors were demanding a certain amount of money per student studying at the coaching center under the PMKVY.
The assessors were identified as Pawan Sharma, Sandeep Kumar and Lalit. Pawan is a resident of Jhajjhar district in Haryana, while Sandeep and Pawan belong to Jaipur’s Kateva Nagar and Gandhi Nagar respectively.
The trio was demanding a bribe of Rs 800 per student. After negotiations, the three assessors agreed to accept Rs 14,000.
“We verified the complaint and organized a trap. As soon as the coaching owner handed over the money, we arrested the trio. They were caught red-handed. Their two colleagues are being quizzed,” said the officer.
There are 240 seats of students approved for skill development. A total of 234 students are undergoing training under the scheme. A financial assessment of 45 students was to take place on Tuesday.
The ACB has arrested the accused assessors under various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The arrests show rampant corruption in the scheme.
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