Advertisement
Guwahati: Assam government has suspended 21 state civil, police, and allied service officers in connection with the Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) ‘cash for job’ scam, according to official sources on Friday.
The suspended officers, identified in orders issued on Thursday, include 11 from the Assam Police Service (APS), four from the Assam Civil Services (ASC), three assistant employment officers, two assistant registrars of cooperative societies, and one excise inspector.
Two APS officers were apprehended last week, with summons issued to several others to appear before a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the state police handling the case.
The personnel department’s suspension notification stated that these officers benefited from “anomalies and malpractices” by the APSC, securing appointments through the “enhancement” of their originally scored marks in the final tabulation sheet used for declaring results.
Labeling the APSC’s recruitment recommendations as “illegal,” the notification described the officers’ appointment process as “gross misconduct, corruption, and moral turpitude.” Due to their ongoing criminal investigation, the government deemed it not in the public service’s interest to allow them to continue in their positions, potentially causing embarrassment.
The findings stem from the one-man Justice (Retd) BK Sarma commission, which uncovered “anomalies and malpractices” in the APSC’s selection process involving financial exchanges during the Combined Competitive Examination, 2013/2014.
This scandal, surfacing in 2016, has resulted in the arrest of nearly 70 individuals, including the former APSC chairman Rakesh Kumar Paul and over 50 civil and police services officials. Mr. Paul, arrested in 2016, was released on bail earlier this year.
In September, the chief minister directed the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT), headed by additional DGP (CID) Munna Prasad Gupta, to further probe the case. The SIT has been instructed to submit its report to the Gauhati High Court within six months in a sealed envelope.
Last month, the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) revealed that departmental proceedings had been initiated against 34 officials of the 2013 batch mentioned in the Justice (Retd) B K Sarma Committee report. Similar actions were taken against 2014 batch candidates allegedly selected through unfair means with tampered marks during the tabulation process.
