NEW DELHI/LUCKNOW - The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Wednesday arrested three people, including a Lucknow-based deputy inspector general (DIG) of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), for allegedly accepting bribes to recruit constables for the paramilitary force.

Apart from DIG Vinod Sharma, head constable B.B. Chaubey, who is now in the CBI but was originally recruited in the CRPF and was arrested while accepting a bribe of Rs.90,000, and a tout called Arvind from Lucknow were also nabbed, said an official CBI statement.

The CBI had earlier registered cases against the three for running a racket to recruit candidates for various posts of constables — including general duty constables, drivers, fitters — in the CRPF.

The recruitment of around 1,600 constables started nearly two months ago at the CRPF’s Bijnore group centre in Sarojini Nagar, Lucknow, said a CRPF official.

‘It was found that DIG CRPF provided information about recruitments and vacancies to his touts, including a head constable of CBI, B.B. Chaubey, who was originally recruited in CRPF and having a network of touts in the different districts of Uttar Pradesh, Uttrakhand and Madhya Pradesh,’ the CBI statement said.

The modus operandi included collecting information about recruitment schedules/vacancies, contacting prospective candidates and ‘inducing them to pay hefty bribe in return of assurance of selection’.

Candidates were asked to make part advance payment and the candidates selected would have to pay the rest of the money after the results were declared.

‘The advance payment of unsuccessful candidates used to be refunded after deducting token amount. It has been also found that many of the victims of this racket belong to very poor families who sold or mortgaged their land to pay these touts,’ it further said.

The premier investigation agency conducted searches at six locations in Lucknow and a large number of slips containing details of prospective candidates were recovered.