BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh on Monday demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the alleged multi-crore Pharmacy Officer recruitment scam in Punjab, accusing the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government of shielding an "examination mafia" that, he claimed, has infiltrated the state's recruitment system.
Chugh alleged that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal were "shielding the examination mafia", had failed to curb recurring examination irregularities, and called for the Chief Minister's resignation on moral grounds.
Addressing the media, the Rajya Sabha MP said that on July 19, nearly 7,000 candidates appeared for 454 Pharmacy Officer posts across 25 examination centres in Faridkot, Kotkapura and Ferozepur in an examination conducted by Baba Farid University of Health Sciences on behalf of the Health and Family Welfare Department.
According to Chugh, police investigations uncovered a sophisticated cheating network operating inside examination halls using concealed pen cameras, hidden earpieces and battery-operated wireless communication devices. Some of the gadgets were allegedly hidden inside turbans, socks and clothing, enabling answers to be transmitted to candidates in real time while the examination was underway.
He said 28 candidates had been detained, seven alleged conspirators arrested, and 27 wireless communication devices recovered during the investigation.
Citing the preliminary police probe, Chugh alleged that the question paper was photographed inside an examination centre in Ferozepur and shared via WhatsApp with a handler in Bhiwani, Haryana. The paper was then allegedly solved at a makeshift control room in Society Nagar, Faridkot, from where answers were transmitted back to candidates at the examination centres.
He further alleged that candidates were charged between Rs 3.5 lakh and Rs 13 lakh for guaranteed success, with post-dated cheques collected from some as security. The alleged mastermind, he claimed, is an employee of a polytechnic college in Fazilka, while other operatives hailed from Haryana and Rajasthan, indicating the involvement of an interstate recruitment racket.
Chugh said the Pharmacy Officer case was not an isolated incident but part of a series of alleged examination scams during the AAP government's tenure.
Listing previous controversies, he referred to the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) Naib Tehsildar examination in May 2022, the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) Class XII English examination in February 2023, the Punjab State Teacher Eligibility Test (PSTET) in March 2023, the PPSC Agriculture Development Officer examination in June 2024, and the Punjab Subordinate Services Selection Board (PSSSB) Group-B Combined Examination in December 2025.
"Every single year of this government has produced its own exam scam. This is not negligence anymore—it is a business model," Chugh alleged.
Demanding strict action, Chugh called for all alleged examination scams during the AAP government's tenure to be investigated by the CBI under the supervision of a sitting judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
He also demanded Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's resignation, alleging that he bears moral responsibility for the recurring controversies, and sought an apology from both Mann and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal to the youth of Punjab.