GUWAHATI: The Assam government has suspended 21 high-ranked government officers for their alleged involvement in a cash-for-job scam in the Assam Public Service Commission (APSC). Those suspended include 11 Assam Police Service officers and four Assam Civil Service officers.
Two of the officers – both from the Police Service – were arrested recently while summons were issued to several others seeking their appearance before the Special Investigation Team (SIT).
In separate suspension notifications, the Personnel Department said these officers were beneficiaries of the “anomalies and malpractices carried out by the APSC” and they got appointments by “enhancement” of their originally scored marks in the final tabulation sheet based on which the final results were declared.
The suspension notification of one officer stated that his recruitment to government service on the basis of the recommendation of the APSC was illegal and he secured for himself a job for which he could not have qualified without illegal enhancement of marks and hence, his actions amount to gross misconduct, corruption and moral turpitude.
The alleged irregularities related to the Combined Competitive Examination (CCE) conducted by APSC in 2013. The special investigation agency ( SIT) in its final report named 34 officers as suspects.
The SIT summoned 29 of these 34 officials and arrested two of them last week. The multi-crore rupees scam was unearthed in 2016 by a doctor, Angshumita Gogoi.
The police in upper Assam’s Dibrugarh town had arrested an assistant engineer after he was caught red-handed accepting bribes of Rs 10 lakh from Gogoi. He had approached her promising a job through the APSC and demanded the money but she tipped off the police.
Later, based on his confession, the then APSC chairman and prime accused Rakesh Paul and some others were arrested by the police. Paul languished in jail for more than six years until walking out on bail in March this year.