Assam govt forms SIT to probe cash-for-jobs scam

The Gauhati High Court was informed of the development by the Additional Attorney General for Assam, Nalin Kohli on Friday.

He told the high court that Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had ordered the SIT to be established.

The chairman of the committee is ADGP Munna Prasad Gupta and the other members are Guwahati Joint Commissioner of Police Thube Prateek Vijay Kumar, two officers of the DSP rank, and two inspectors.

Surjeet Singh Panesar, an APS officer who was in charge of the investigation, is no longer a member of the SIT.

The SIT has been instructed by the Gauhati High Court to submit a thorough report on the situation within the allotted six-month time period.

A committee was established by the Assam government in May of last year to determine what should be done in response to the inquiry report on the 2013 state civil service examinations that was submitted by Justice (Retired) Biplab Kr Sarma commission.

The Commission, which was established in accordance with the Gauhati High Court’s instructions, turned up its findings on the irregularities in the civil service examinations conducted.

Although the report has not been made public, it is claimed that the commission’s conclusions describe inconsistencies in several candidates’ answer sheets who were proclaimed successful, purportedly in lieu of money.

The five-member panel was established by the state government to review the inquiry commission’s report on irregularities in the examination.

Several successful candidates, including Assam Civil Service (ACS) and Assam Police Service (APS) personnel who appeared in the 2013 examination, were said to have engaged in wrongdoing in conjunction with the then APSC chairman Rakesh Paul, which led to the discovery of the cash-for-job scam in 2016.

Police arrested 60 serving ACS and APS officers and 39 officers were also dismissed when irregularities were found.

Paul, who was arrested in 2016, along with others, is currently out on bail.

IANS