A suspended revenue official in Rajasthan has been dismissed from service for his involvement in paper leak cases, officials said on Saturday.
The Rajasthan government had formed a special investigation team (SIT) in December 2023 to probe the widespread paper leak incidents. Dausa Collector Devendra Kumar terminated Harshvardhan Meena from service on Friday after the charges against him were confirmed, according to V.K. Singh, Additional Director General (ADG) of Rajasthan Police’s Anti-Terrorism Squad and Special Operations Group (ATS-SOG).
According to authorities, Meena had been absent from duty since January 2, 2024. He was arrested on February 18 that year by the Special Operations Group (SOG) in Jaipur while attempting to flee from the Indo-Nepal border in Uttar Pradesh in connection with the paper leak cases.
Investigations revealed that Meena had acquired various movable and immovable properties in his and his family’s name, which he failed to disclose in his annual performance evaluation report. These discrepancies, along with his role in the paper leak cases, led to his termination from government service.
“After completing the investigation into three allegations against Harshvardhan Meena, who was working as a patwari in Mahwa before his arrest in the JEN recruitment exam 2020 paper leak case, he has been dismissed from state service,” Singh said.
Additionally, his wife, Sarita Meena, who was a patwari in Bhilwara, was also terminated from government service in December last year. She was accused of clearing the SI recruitment exam in 2021 using a dummy candidate. After the allegations surfaced, she absconded but was later dismissed from service by the Bhilwara Collector on December 24, 2024.
ADG Singh noted that since the formation of the SIT on the directives of Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma, a total of 86 public servants have been dismissed from service. Among them are 45 trainee sub-inspectors who were selected through the SI recruitment exam in 2021.
The Rajasthan government continues its crackdown on those involved in exam fraud and corruption, with authorities promising strict action against individuals implicated in the ongoing investigation.
Sources By Agencies