Buglers who make noises while blowing the instrument,cooks who cant prepare meals and barbers who cant even hold the scissors properly. These are among 38 people selected illegally for various vacant fourth grade posts in the Bihar Military Police (BMP),Inspector General of Police (BMP) Arvind Pandey has allegedly found. Suspecting irregularities,the IG called a retest of 56 candidates selected for various posts in BMP-13,Darbhanga,and found 38 unfit 16 cooks,nine water carriers,five barbers and eight buglers. Several candidates who were rejected passed the test with flying colours many of them from Scheduled Castes. The retest,conducted this January in front of the commandant who selected them,was video-recorded. All the appointments were made last December. The commandant of a particular unit is the final authority on such appointments. The BMP,which had 366 fourth grade vacancies,has filled over 150 posts so far. Pandey (now IG,Weaker Sections,CID) alleged that two BMP commandants overlooked basic selection criteria and violated reservation norms for monetary considerations. Documents and a CD of the retest conducted by Pandey,which are available with The Indian Express,show how the IG had to serve several reminders to BMP-13 commandant Ajay Kumar to conduct a retest of buglers. Eighteen selected candidates were not produced for a retest. Though Pandey was shifted during the recent mass transfer of IPS officers,the commandant of BMP-13,Ajay Kumar,retained his post. Another commandant under the scanner,D N Gupta of BMP-4,Darbhanga,retired recently. IG Pandey,who allegedly faced his seniors wrath for trying to meet the Chief Minister directly,later clarified his stand to state DGP Neelmani in a letter. He said he suspected BMP-13 commandant Ajay Kumar enjoyed patronage of bigwigs. .He interrupted my investigation. I wanted to convey this to the CM, read the letter. Nitish Kumar said the matter would be thoroughly investigated.
