One more Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and a close associate of Assam irrigation minister Bhabesh Kalita was arrested on Sunday morning for his alleged involvement in Assam police SI recruitment scam, taking the total number of those nabbed to 46.
Jintu Nath, who is the vice president of the BJP’s Bezera circle under Jalukbari constituency, was arrested by Chaiduar police from Jamuguri area in north Assam’s Sonitpur district, police said.
Earlier on October 1, BJP leader and one of the prime accused in the recruitment scam, Diban Deka, was arrested from Patacharkuchi in newly created Bajali district. He has been in police custody since then.
Assam’s director general of police (DGP) Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta on Saturday said that a total of 45 accused including former DIG PK Dutta and BJP leader Deka have been arrested so far in connection with the scam.
Meanwhile, the criminal investigation department (CID) on Sunday seized a total of 4.20 lakh from an establishment in city’s Zoo road area.
The CID officials seized the cash from Trishna Global Pvt Ltd, which is owned by Saroj Sharma, one of the prime accused in the recruitment scam.
Sarma was arrested by a team of CID and Crime Branch on Friday from the Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport (LGBI) in Guwahati, when had arrived from Lucknow.
CID also recovered a pen drive as well as a hard disc from the establishment and seized a four-wheeler vehicle belonging to Sarma from his Sundarpur residence.
The Assam police on Saturday recovered around Rs 5.37 crore from the state’s three western districts.
“An amount of Rs 5, 36, 88,640 was recovered in searches at Bongaigaon, Barpeta and Chirang districts. The money is suspected of being connected to CID Case No 21/2020 (SI Recruitment Case),” additional director general of police (law and order) Gyanendra Pratap Singh had said in a tweet.