19 gazetted officers, who were arrested in connection with the cash- for-job scam in the Assam Public Service Commission (APSC), were remanded to 11-day police custody on Thursday.
Dibrugarh Police produced the accused officials before the Special Judge’s court, Assam, here which sent them to police remand.
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The 19 accused officials–Utpal Bhuyan, Barnali Das, Susovan Das, Dhruvojyoti Chakraboty, Manzoor Ilahi Laskar, Moon Mazoomdar, Mustafa Ahmed Borbhuyan, Md Saibur Rahman Borbhuyan, Monika Teronpi, Ganesh Chandra Das, Srabanti Sen Gupta, Deepsikha Phukan, Leena Krishna Kakati, all ACS officers, Rhituraj Neog (superintendent of taxes), Nipon Kumar Pathak (inspector of taxes), Gulshan Daolagpu, Pallavi Sarmah, Bhargav Phukan, all Assam Police Service (junior grade) officers and Kamrup (metro) DTO Suranjita Hazarika—were arrested by Dibrugarh police on Wednesday from Assam Police special branch headquarters at Kahilipara here as their handwriting did not match with that in their answer sheet in APSC.
Police sought custody of the arrested officials for 14 days but the judge granted 11-day police police remand of the officials. The court has fixed July 30 for the next hearing of the case.
Also read: APSC scam: Assam MP’s daughter, 18 gazetted officers arrested
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The court also rejected the bail plea moved by seven officials including BJP MP RP Sharma’s daughter Pallbai Sarma. Sources said APS officer Pallbai , who was posted as DSP in Sivasagar district, moved bail petition on ground of his father’s ill health.
The officers were arrested after being summoned for verification of their handwriting specimen at the special branch headquarters here.
Eight arrested female officials were kept at Panbazar women police station, eight officials were kept at SB headquarters and three other officials were kept at Panbazar police station last night before being produced in court on Thursday.
With the arrest of 19 officials, the number of arrested accused persons in the APSC recruitment scam has gone up to 63.
The 19 officers were selected in the examination conducted by the APSC when Rakesh Pal was its chairman. Pal and three other officials of the commission were arrested in 2016 for their alleged involvement in the cash-for-job scam.
The arrested officials include 13 ACS, three APS and three allied service officials, police said.
The Assam government had on 21 June this year dismissed 13 arrested state civil services officers from service for their alleged involvement in the cash-for-job scam.
The dismissed officers were undergoing probation when they were arrested in November last year and are currently lodged in Guwahati Central Jail, a news agency reported.
They have been accused of bribing Pal and using unfair means in the examinations to qualify for the state civil services.