NEW DELHI, Aug 13: M Harsha Vardhan, IPS, Additional DCP-1 South, was awarded the Union Home Minister’s Medal for Excellence in Investigation for work done during his tenure in Arunachal Pradesh. He was posted as SP, Special Investigation Cell in Arunachal Pradesh. M Harsha Vardhan had led the investigation into a major recruitment scam in the exam conducted by the Arunachal Pradesh Staff Selection Board (APSSB). It was found that candidates had paid Rs 8-12 lakh each to the then Under Secretary of APSSB for clearing the exam. They were asked to leave the OMR sheet blank and later and the accused then used her access to the strong room to fill in the correct answers.
Evidence like CCTV footage had been destroyed. More than 20 persons were arrested in the case. Unexplained transactions were traced to an account linked to the arrested Under Secretary and her husband. The account containing more than Rs 1 crore was seized.
Electronic gadgets like mobile phones of accused, hard disks of CCTV system were seized and sent to CFSL in Chandigarh as there are no forensic facilities for digital evidence in Arunachal Pradesh.
Various deleted WhatsApp chats and images were recovered from the phones of the accused persons which provided vital evidence in the case and also revealed that a similar scam had occurred in UDC examination conducted by APSSB earlier, for which SIC registered a separate case.
For the first time ever in Arunachal Pradesh, approver evidence was secured against the main accused in a Prevention of Corruption Act case. M Harsha Vardhan as SP, SIC, played the key role in ensuring that accused were booked and proper evidence was collected in the case in a state like Arunachal Pradesh that lacks the required facilities. (PTI)

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Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
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