Former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat on Friday resigned from two Congress positions following Enforcement Directorate (ED) searches at the premises of his personal assistant, Chandan Singh Jeena, in a money laundering case linked to alleged irregularities in a 2016 recruitment examination.
Rawat said he did not want the allegations surrounding someone close to him to become a distraction for the Congress party's campaign against corruption. He therefore stepped down as a member of the executive committee of the Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee and as a permanent invitee to the Congress Working Committee.
While announcing his decision, Rawat described Jeena as a "very decent, humble and hardworking person" and indicated that he would continue to stand by his associate despite the investigation.
The ED conducted searches at several locations in Dehradun on Thursday as part of its investigation into alleged manipulation of the 2016 Gram Panchayat Vikas Adhikari (VPDO) examination conducted by the Uttarakhand Subordinate Service Selection Commission (UKSSSC). The agency searched properties linked to former UKSSSC officials, the owner of a private computer agency that was involved in processing OMR answer sheets and people suspected of acting as intermediaries in the alleged recruitment scam.
According to the ED, investigators recovered Rs 32 lakh in unexplained cash from Jeena's residence during the searches.
The agency also reported the recovery of gold and other valuables. These included 13 gold coins and seven gold chains with a combined weight of around 200.5 grams. Around a dozen watches were also seized, including products from brands such as Rolex, Rado, Piaget, Movado, Tissot and Casio Edifice.
The ED said bank accounts belonging to Jeena and members of his family, containing Rs 52.16 lakh, were frozen as part of the action.
Investigators also seized Jeena's mobile phone for forensic examination. The agency alleged that he had made substantial cash expenditures for which it could not establish a legitimate source of funds.
Unaccounted cash, jewellery and other valuables were also reportedly recovered from some former UKSSSC officials and other individuals linked to the investigation.
The searches form part of a broader money laundering probe arising from criminal cases registered by the Uttarakhand Police and Vigilance Bureau.
The underlying investigation concerns the 2016 UKSSSC VPDO examination, in which authorities are probing alleged large-scale manipulation of answer sheets. The ED said the OMR sheets were allegedly removed from secure storage and taken to the residence of the then secretary of the commission, as per reports.
Investigators allege that details of candidates whose answer sheets had unanswered questions were recorded and subsequently passed to employees of a private computer agency.
According to the agency's allegations, the personnel then altered the answer sheets by filling in bubbles corresponding to answers. The sheets were subsequently resealed, with the alleged manipulation carried out in return for illegal payments that were channelled through middlemen.
Jeena has been associated with Rawat for several years and is currently working as his personal assistant.
He had also served as Rawat's officer on special duty (OSD) during Rawat's tenure as Uttarakhand chief minister between 2014 and 2017.
Rawat's resignation from the two Congress positions comes as the ED investigation places renewed focus on the alleged recruitment examination irregularities and the financial transactions of people linked to the case.
The former chief minister's decision was framed as an attempt to ensure that the allegations against his associate do not affect the Congress party's position on corruption.
