Jaipur : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday arrested the owner of a private school in Jaipur as part of its money laundering probe related to the alleged leak of Rajasthan Teacher Eligibility Test (RET) 2021 question paper. Official sources said that Ramkripal Meena was taken into custody under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and produced before a special court in Jaipur. The court sent the accused to ED custody till June 27.
Ramkripal Meena had hatched a conspiracy
The Enforcement Directorate informed the court that Ramkripal Meena was one of the key persons who conspired and facilitated the leak of the REET exam question paper. The ED also told the court that he had colluded with others to collect the proceeds of crime and convert them into white money. It is alleged that Ramkripal Meena (out of five crore rupees) converted about Rs 1.03 crore black money into white.
Ramkripal Meena was appointed Deputy District Coordinator
According to media reports, Ramkripal Meena is the owner of a private school in Jaipur. Retired Professor Pradeep Parashar appointed him as Deputy District Coordinator of Jaipur for REET 2021 along with three others. The ED, while seeking Meena’s custody, told the court that Parashar was appointed by the Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education (RBSE), Ajmer as the district coordinator for the said examination.
The question paper was stolen from the strong room
The probe agency claimed that Ramkripal Meena, in connivance with Parashar, entered into a deal to leak the question paper along with (another accused) Udaram Bishnoi for a greed of Rs five crore. The ED alleges that the question paper of REET 2021 was stolen by Ramkripal Meena from the ‘strong room’ of the education complex in Jaipur on the night of 24 September 2021. The central agency said its investigation revealed that as per RBSE rules, the question paper was supposed to be kept in the treasury or sub-treasury or any police station in the district, but this direction was “not followed” in Jaipur. The ED alleged that Bishnoi took money from various candidates with the help of middlemen and handed over the question papers to them.
Rajasthan teacher paper leak: Police arrested three people including RPSC member Babulal Katara
62 people arrested so far
A total of 62 people, including Ramkripal Meena, retired professors Pradeep Parashar and Udaram Bishnoi, have been arrested by the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the Rajasthan Police and three charge sheets have been filed against them. The ED had sought Meena’s custody to ascertain the modus operandi of the alleged question paper leak and to interrogate Meena by showing various documents of immovable properties. The agency had raided its premises in Jaipur on Tuesday in which these documents were found. The ED told the court that Meena needed to be interrogated in custody to find out from whom she had taken money and who were involved in receiving the money.
