Guwahati, Dec 1: The Assam government has placed as many as 21 government officials under suspension as part of an ongoing investigation into the Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) cash-for-jobs scam.
Among the suspended government officials, 11 belong to the Assam Police Service (APS), four are Assam Civil Service (ACS) officers, one is an inspector of excise, two are ARCS officers, while three are assistant employment officers, an official notification issued here stated.The suspended officials are Dhrubajyoti Hatibarua (ACS), Akashee Duwarah (ACS), Dhiraj Jain (ACS), Hitesh Mazumdar (ACS); Kalyan Kr Das (APS), Faruk Ahmed (APS), Dipankar Dutta Lahkar (APS), Kula Pradip Bhattacharya (APS), Nilanjal Gogoi (APS), Nitu Moni Das (APS), Rumir Timungpi (APS), Anal Jyoti Das (APS), Nandini Kakati (APS), Aoicharjya Jibon Baruah (APS), Sajahan Sarkar (APS); Saurav Pran Sharma (Inspector of Excise); Bikash Sarma (ARCS), Chakradhar Deka (ARCS); and three assistant employment officers, Gitartha Baruah, Bichitra Gopal Nath and Rakesh Das.
According to the official notification, these officers were the beneficiaries of “anomalies and malpractices carried out by the APSC”.
The suspensions, carried out under Rule 6(1) of the Assam Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1964, aim to avoid potential harm to public interest and government embarrassment.
The fresh round of suspension of officials comes after the government fast-tracked the probe into the APSC cash-for-jobs scam, following which several officers were detained and interrogated.
It may be mentioned that the one-man inquiry commission of Justice (retired) B. K. Sharma had reported about anomalies and malpractices resorted to for the selection of candidates in exchange of money and other extraneous consideration by the Assam Public Service Commission, headed by the then chairman Rakesh Paul, while conducting the combined competitive examination 2013-14.