Overview
- The Enforcement Directorate arrested former CGPSC chairman Taman Singh Sonwani on Saturday under Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and the Special Court (PMLA), Raipur remanded him to ED custody until July 30, 2026.
- The ED says it opened the money‑laundering probe after an FIR by the Economic Offences Wing/ACB, Raipur and a predicate investigation by the CBI into alleged corruption in the CGPSC exams held in 2020–2021.
- Investigators allege Sonwani conspired with public servants and private individuals to leak question papers and manipulate selections so his relatives and favoured candidates gained senior posts such as Deputy Collector and DSP.
- The agency reports proceeds were taken partly in cash and partly through layered bank transactions, and it says Sonwani gave evasive replies during a Section 50 PMLA statement, prompting the arrest to help trace the money trail.
- Next steps include forensic analysis of banking records, tracing cash flows, questioning of other suspects and potential prosecution under the PMLA, with wider implications for the integrity of state recruitment rules that were amended in 2021.