BJP leader, senior cop arrested

Guwahati: Assam Police have arrested three persons, including a BJP leader and a senior police official for trying to influence the probe into the cash-for-job scam which has rocked the state, an official said on Monday.
Vice-president of ruling BJP’s Darrang unit Sailen Sarma Barua, deputy superintendent of police (DSP) of Duliajan Kabita Das and businessman Surajit Chaudhury were held on Sunday night, Dibrugarh district superintendent of police Gautam Bora said.
“We have arrested DSP Kabita Das on Sunday night. She has already been taken to Guwahati and is being interrogated,” Bora said.
“Two more persons were arrested from Darrang and Guwahati. One is Sailen Sarma Barua who is the vice-president of ruling BJP’s Darrang unit and an advocate from Mangaldoi and the other is a businessman named Surajit Chaudhury,” he added.
According to official sources, the duo was trying to influence the probe by meeting judges at the Guwahati High Court.
The Dibrugarh Police is investigating the scam at the Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) in which a total 67 people including the former APSC chairman Rakesh Kumar Paul and over 55 civil services officials have been arrested.
On July 18, another 19 officers of Assam Civil Services (ACS), Assam Police Services (APS) and other allied services of the 2016 batch were held. APS officer Pallavi Sharma, the daughter of BJP MP R P Sharma, was among them. (PTI)