GUWAHATI: Former Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi on Saturday demanded a CBI probe against a BJP minister in the state for his alleged involvement in a bribery scam.
“The BJP government claims it has launched a drive against corruption but we have our doubts. Let it recommend a CBI probe against (irrigation minister) Ranjit Dutta and another into the cash-for-jobs scam in Assam Public Service Commission (APSC). We also demand a probe against (BJP leader) Tuliram Ronghang,” Gogoi said.
The name of the minister cropped up in the bribery scam following the arrest of irrigation secretary, Kujendra Doley, in March. There are allegations that the government was shielding the minister.
Doley was caught by an anti-corruption cell accepting a bribe of Rs 15,000 from a contractor to clear a pending bill for payment. Later, the cell seized Rs 45 lakh in cash from his office chamber and another Rs 11 lakh from his residence. He allegedly used to demand bribes from contractors to clear files for payment at the behest of the minister.
In the cash-for-jobs scam, APSC chairman Rakesh Kumar Paul and several others, including two members and an assistant controller of examinations, were arrested by the police. All of them are now in judicial custody.
The Congress alleged that former minister Sumitra Patir defected to the BJP from the Congress recently to evade conviction in the scam. She had allegedly secured plum jobs for her son and some others through the APSC by using her influence. Tuliram Ronghang, against whom Gogoi demanded a probe, is the chief of Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council. Earlier, a peasants’ body had moved the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) accusing Ronghang of siphoning off funds to the tune of Rs 4.5 crore.