Guwahati : As many as 25 Assam Civil Service (ACS) and Assam Police Service (APS) officers who were selected by Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) were called by Assam police for interrogation on Friday in relation to the jobs-for-cash racket that rocked the APSC.
They were interrogated at the Assam Police Special Branch headquarter at Kahilipara in the city.
Sources said samples of their hand writing were collected for forensic test. The investigating team had earlier seized the APSC examination answer scripts of these ACS and APS officials who are now serving at various locations in the state. The probe team suspects foul play including payment of bribes for jobs in the selection process of these officials.
Earlier, the investigation team had seized answer-scripts of all 241 candidates selected in 2015, besides those of 180 selected in 2016.
Already police have arrested the APSC chairman Rakesh Kumar Paul, two other members of the APSC and a few officers. Assam government has moved the President of India for removal of Paul as chairman. Paul was arrested on November 4 last year and suspended by the state government on November 26. Paul was serving as a notary in a district court when he was appointed a member of the APSC by the Congress government in 2008. He was elevated as chairman in 2013. “That the President of India has made a reference to the Supreme Court regarding the Assam government’s plea and that also means that the constitutional head of the country is satisfied that a prima facie case has been made out against the APSC chairman,” said Bijan Mahajan, special public prosecutor.
Meanwhile, at least in three specific cases the investigating team has seized two sets of answer-scripts for three particular candidates who were each selected by the APSC in 2015. All of them– ACS officers Bhaskarjyoti Dutta Das, Amit Sarma and Bhaskarjyoti Dev Sarma – are now in custody.
Others persons arrested so far in relation to the scam included APSC members Basanta Kumar Doley and Samedur Rahman, controller of examinations Pabitra Kaibarta. Two other persons — the APSC chairman’s younger brother Rajib Kumar Paul and close aide Sudip Das — have been declared absconders in relation to the case. Rajib Kumar Paul used to own a printing Press where duplicate APSC answer- scripts were allegedly printed at the behest of the APSC chairman Rakesh Paul. The genuine answer scripts are printed at Assam Government Press.
A source informed that though the police probe team had seized the answer-scripts of all 241 officers selected in 2015 as well as 180 selected in 2016, it did not necessarily indicated that all of them were under cloud. All these answer-scripts have been seized to facilitate a foolproof inquiry and prevent tampering of the same while thorough probe as being made in respect of the 25 selected officers under cloud who were called for interrogation . (EoM)
