Job scam in Assam: APSC chief hired people to collect bribes, say police

Paul — who was arrested under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and IPC— was remanded in 14 days’ police custody by a special court here.

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Rakesh Kumar Paul (left) being taken into custody on Friday night. PTI

Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) chairman Rakesh Kumar Paul, who was arrested here on Friday, allegedly engaged a number of persons for collecting bribes from candidates seeking government jobs through the APSC. The police arrested Paul on the basis of statements of as well as evidence collected from one Nabakanta Patir, who was arrested in Dibrugarh on October 27 for allegedly collecting Rs 10 lakh from a candidate on behalf of the APSC chairman.

Paul — who was arrested under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and IPC— was remanded in 14 days’ police custody by a special court here. “We arrested Paul on the basis of evidence collected after arresting Patir red-handed. There could be more such persons across the state who were engaged by Paul for collecting bribes from candidates,” Dibrugarh SP Gautam Bora said.

READ | Assam Public Service Commission chairman Rakesh Pal held for graft

On Sunday the police conducted raids in houses owned by Paul, as well as a printing press run by one of his brothers in Guwahati. There were reports that answer scripts and question papers of examinations conducted by the APSC had been seized during the raids.

Paul, a little-known lawyer who was appointed by the Congress government of Tarun Gogoi in 2008 as APSC member, was elevated as chairman in 2013. There were several allegations of anomalies in selection of candidates for government posts through the APSC since he became its chairman, with cases being filed against him and the commission. A series of events led to the arrest of Paul. On October 25, one Angshumita Gogoi, a dentist, approached the police in Dibrugarh saying one Nabakanta Patir had asked for Rs 15 lakh for a “confirmed” selection for a government job. Gogoi, who had failed to secure a job in an earlier attempt through the APSC, had initially decided to pay the bribe to get the job. In the meantime she negotiated with Patir and brought down the sum to Rs 10 lakh.

“We arrested Patir red-handed and recovered Rs 10 lakh from him. His interrogation led to recovery of more cash in the house of a woman in Bokakhat (in Golaghat district), which is believed to have been kept there by Patir,” Dibrugarh SP Bora told The Indian Express. Patir is posted as an assistant engineer with the Town and Country Planning department in Dibrugarh.

Patir’s arrest led to the arrest of Mamud Ali Choudhury, PSO of APSC member Samedur Rahman, in Rangiya on October 30. “We are looking for Rahman too,” Dibrugarh SP Bora said. Rahman is a former college teacher.

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Bijan Mahajan, advocate for Krishak Mukti Sangram Parishad (KMSS) and Gauhati Lawyers’ Association (GLA) — the two organisations that petitioned against granting bail to Paul — said the forwarding report had not only mentioned several telephone calls between Paul and Patir, but also that Paul had destroyed a cellphone through which he had been in touch with Patir.

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