GUWAHATI: A young officer of Assam’s civil administration has resigned in the face of media suspicion that he bought his job and said that he would end his life if anyone could prove he had sold his integrity.
Ramanuj Hazarika, who was serving as an executive magistrate and election officer in northern Assam’s Dhemaji district, tendered his resignation to district authorities on November 22.
Nearly two dozen officers of Assam’s civil administration and police were arrested in connection with the cash-for-jobs scam in the Assam Public Service Commission (APSC), including its former chairman Rakesh Kumar Paul. Following the latest arrests, all those who secured jobs under Paul’s time are under the glare of local media.
An officer of the Assam Civil Services 2015 batch, Hazarika said the media’s suspicion on his integrity had spurred him to quit the job. “It was a personal decision. I had to take it since I knew some media houses will keep going after me. I will now prepare for a UPSC exam. I have left the job and the administration, not the state.
My quitting the job does not mean I am trying to flee to avoid arrest, like they assume. I am still here and they should know the state is powerful,” Hazarika said in Facebook video.
“If they can prove I secured the job by shelling out money, I will commit suicide or accept whatever punishment they will give me,” he said, adding that he would soon file a defamation suit.