Guwahati, Nov 9: The Assam government has initiated departmental action against 34 officers implicated in the inquiry report of the Justice (retired) B.K Sharma Commission, the one-man panel that probed the alleged irregularities in the Combined Competitive Examinations (CCE 2014 and 2013) of the Assam Public Service Commission (APSC).
Notably, in the wake of the alleged anomalies and malpractices in the APSC exams, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had taken a strict stance and based on recommendations of the inquiry commission, ordered departmental action against the 34 officers whose names were mentioned in the panel’s report.
The Assam government had initially appointed the inquiry commission, led by the retired Gauhati High Court judge, to investigate the claims of irregularities and malpractices in the conduct of the APSC CCE 2013 test.
The inquiry commission had, in April 2022, submitted its report that revealed incorrect selections of 37 candidates and raised concerns about the appointment of the then-APSC chairman, Rakesh Paul. As a result, the commission recommended the cancellation of the entire CCE 2013 batch.
Subsequently, the government requested that the commission to inquire into the claims of irregularities and malpractices in the conduct of CCE 2014 and submit another report.
It may be recalled that in connection to the “APSC cash-for-job scam”, 57 state civil servants of 2013, 2015 and 2016 batches have been arrested and dismissed from service.