ED conducts raids at seven locations in Hyderabad in APPSC exam scam

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday conducted investigations at seven locations in Hyderabad and Secunderabad regarding an alleged scam involving the manual evaluation of answer scripts in the Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) Group-I Mains examination. The action was carried out by the ED's Hyderabad Zonal Office under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

According to a report by The Hindu, the investigation is based on an FIR registered at the Suryaraopet police station in Vijayawada. The FIR alleges irregularities in the manual evaluation of answer scripts and a payment of ₹1,14,32,312 made to a private company.

According to the ED, these alleged irregularities occurred after the Andhra Pradesh High Court set aside digital evaluation and ordered manual evaluation in November 2021. At that time, APPSC Secretary P. Sitaramanjeyulu had entrusted this task to M/s CamSign Media Pvt. Ltd. This company was hired to conduct the manual evaluation at Haailand Resorts, located in Chinnakakani village of Guntur district, within their premises.

The investigation has revealed that between December 2021 and February 2022, i.e., for 84 days, the answer scripts were taken out of the official premises and kept at the resort. Investigators suspect that no actual manual evaluation was conducted. Instead, it is alleged that the marks obtained from the previous digital evaluation were merely presented as marks from the manual evaluation.

On January 1, 2022, it was announced that the process was in its final stage, and subsequently, on February 16, 2022, ₹1,14,32,312 was paid to the private company via a cheque signed by the then APPSC Secretary. The ED stated that this payment was made for work that was allegedly never performed.

The ED raided the premises of P. Sitaramanjeyulu, CamSign Media Pvt. Ltd., and its Managing Director P. Madhusudhana Rao, among others. Additionally, investigations were conducted at locations linked to M/s Avaas Resorts, Haailand Resorts, and the previous digital evaluator, M/s Stone Media Advisory Services Pvt. Ltd.

During the investigation, additional documents, digital devices, and other records related to the scam have been seized. Statements of the accused, including P. Sitaramanjeyulu, have also been recorded. Documents of the recovered properties are being verified. The agency is now investigating the movement of funds, specifically how a portion of the paid amount was used for Haailand Resorts and how and where the remaining amount was utilized.

APPSC was a government body conducting the recruitment process for government services in Andhra Pradesh.