The Directorate of Enforcement has arrested Taman Singh Sonwani, the former Chairman of the Chhattisgarh Public Service Commission (CGPSC), in a money laundering case related to an alleged scam in CGPSC recruitments.

“The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Raipur Zonal Office, has arrested Taman Singh Sonwani, the then Chairman of the Chhattisgarh Public Service Commission (CGPSC), in the case relating to the corruption, question-paper leak and manipulation of the CGPSC State Service Examinations, under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. Taman Singh Sonwani was arrested on July 25 under Section 19 of the PMLA and produced before the Hon’ble Special Court (PMLA), Raipur, which has remanded him to the custody of the ED for a period of seven days, up to July 30,” said an ED official.

The CGPSC case pertains to alleged irregularities in the selection of candidates in the CGPSC recruitment examinations

The proceeds of crime were collected partly in cash and partly routed through layered banking transactions and hence the ED entered the probe, the agency said in a statement.

“Investigation further revealed that the recruitment rules of the CGPSC were amended in 2021 so as to remove the word “nephew” from the definition of “family”, thereby facilitating the selection of the relatives of Taman Singh Sonwani. The proceeds of crime were collected partly in cash and partly routed through layered banking transactions. In his statement recorded under Section 50 of the PMLA, 2002, he gave evasive and non-cooperative replies and suppressed material facts,” the ED official said.

The ED statement added that Mr. Sonwani had been arrested so as to trace the proceeds of crime, establish the money trail, and identify the other persons involved.

The alleged scam was reported when the Congress was in power in the State. In the run up to the 2023 Assembly election, it had become one of the several corruption cases that the Bharatiya Janata Party, then in the Opposition, had targeted the Bhupesh Baghel-led government over.

According to the ED, the investigation revealed that Mr. Sonwani, while functioning as the Chairman of the CGPSC, entered into a criminal conspiracy with other public servants and private individuals for leaking question papers and manipulating the selection process in exchange for illegal gratification, so as to secure the fraudulent selection of his relatives and other favoured candidates to senior public posts such as Deputy Collector and Deputy Superintendent of Police.

Published - July 27, 2026 08:04 pm IST