Shobha Raika who cleared the police sub inspector exams in 2021 with flying colours, is the reason why her father — former Rajasthan Public Service Commission member Ramu Ram Raika — has been caught in connection with the paper leak scam that has rocked the state.
What drew attention to Shobha Raika was that despite achieving fifth rank in the statewide exam, she was a consistent under-performer.
Police officers who watching her say there were snide remarks about her in the academy — about how she and her brother Devesh had cleared the exam. Devesh had secured 14th rank in the sub inspector exams, but he too was not an above-average performer in the police academy.
The Special Operations Group or SOG investigating the scam then decided to do a retest on all candidates who passed the exam of 2021 and were undergoing training in the police academy in Jaipur and Kishangarh.
Shobha Raika failed miserably. For a candidate who scored 189 out of 200 in Hindi and 155 out of 200 in General Knowledge could not even manage pass marks in the retest. She got 24 out of 200 in Hindi and 34 out of 200 in GK.
The SOG then began to connect the dots. Her father, Ramu Ram Raika, was a member of the Rajasthan Public Services Commission between 2018 to 2022. The exam was held in 2021.
Both his children, Shobha and Devesh, simultaneously cleared the exam that year. The SOG has now arrested them. Sources told NDTV that during interrogation, they confessed that their father had given them a hand-written question paper.
How Ramu Ram Raika got hold of the question paper is still a mystery.
SOG sources have not revealed whether he was in touch with a cheating gang or used his influence as member of the PCS to the agency that sets question papers and conducts the exam.
There is another twist in the tale. Babu Lal Katara, who was also accused of being part of the paper leaks that were happening from the source — the RPSC — had been arrested a year ago by the SOG. Katara too was a member of the RPSC.
The SOG have now brought him out of jail on a production warrant.
The connection with the Raika family is clear. When Shobha gave her interview for the SI exams, she scored 34 out of 50. Babu Lal Katara was on the panel that interviewed candidates.
It is ironical that both Katara and Ramu Ram Raika, the very people who should have ensured a free and fair public service exam, are themselves under the scanner for paper leak.
Interestingly the cheating gangs operate cutting across party lines. Babu Lal Katara was appointed to the commission in October 2020, when Ashok Gehlot was the Chief Minister. But Ramu Ram Raika made it to the commission when the BJP was ruling Rajasthan, during the tenure of Vasundhara Raje.
The Raikas are a community of underprivileged shepherds in western Rajasthan, while Katara is from a tribal community in south Rajasthan. Both made it to the commission as the BJP and the Congress both wanted to consolidate these votebanks that have existed on the margins.
Ashok Gehlot was politically targetted for paper leaks that happened during his tenure. Many believe he paid a heavy price for appointing Katara to the RPSC.
Katara’s arrest six months before the Rajasthan state elections last year had strengthened the perception that the government was somehow connected to paper leaks.
