Guwahati, July 22: The Gauhati High Court on Monday convicted former Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) chairman Rakesh Kumar Paul, who is the prime accused, and 32 others, in the agriculture development officer (ADO) recruitment scam involving irregularities in the selection process for ADO posts advertised in 2013.
Candidates for the said posts had allegedly bribed officials to secure the positions they were not eligible for.
Notably, the ADO scam is a part of the APSC cash-for jobs scam (that came to light in the year 2015-16), where candidates had allegedly bribed officials to obtain government positions.
A case (number 159/2017), in this regard, was registered at Bhangagarh police station here.
The significant verdict by the court on Monday followed a detailed investigation and legal proceedings where 10 persons were acquitted.
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 APSC chairman Rakesh Paul, while conducting the combined competitive examination 2013-14.
The Assam government had fast-tracked the probe into the APSC cash-for-jobs scam, following which several officers were detained and interrogated.
Late last year, as many as 21 government officials were placed under suspension as part of investigation into the APSC cash-for-jobs scam.
Among the suspended government officials, 11 belonged to the Assam Police Service (APS), four were Assam Civil Service (ACS) officers, one was an inspector of excise, two were ARCS officers, while three were assistant employment officers.
According to an official notification, these officers were the beneficiaries of “anomalies and malpractices carried out by the APSC”.
