Despite knowing the whereabouts of Divya Hagaragi, who is accused in the Police Sub Inspector (PSI) recruitment scam, the Crime Investigation Department (CID) police are hesitant to arrest her because of political pressure, according to former MLA B R Patil.
He said on Wednesday that all the BJP leaders were aware of Divya's location. "If Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has morality, he should direct the police to arrest her before his visit to Kalaburagi on Thursday," Patil said. "If the police fail to arrest the accused, it is clear that both the chief minister and Home Minister Araga Jnanendra are part of the alleged scam."
Patil urged the state government to hand over the probe into the scam to the Central Bureau of Investigation to bring out the truth as the CID, which worked under the Home Department, could not conduct the probe impartially.
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The alleged irregularities in the PSI recruitment process have put pressure on the BJP government. Party leaders and ministers have distanced themselves from Divya and said that she had no links with the saffron party.
Patil, however, said that Divya's biodata showed that she had been a BJP worker for nine years. "Several BJP leaders who visited Kalaburagi have been to her house," he said. "Transport Minister Sriramulu, Family Welfare and Health Minister K Sudhakar and Home Minister Araga Jnanendra have visited her. Is she a social or religious leader or does she hold an important position?"
"An RTI activist against whom a charge sheet was filed earlier has felicitated the home minister when he visited Divya's house," he continued. "A probe should be conducted into the role of the home minister in the scam. All efforts are being made to hush up the scam from the state level to the district level."
Terming the state government as a "commission" government, Patil said that the ministers and MLAs were receiving commissions to award contracts and release funds to religious institutions as well as for other works.
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