Guwahati: The Gauhati High Court on Friday granted bail to Rakesh Kumar Paul, the former chairman of the Assam Public Service Commission (APSC), in the APSC cash-for-job scam.
The High Court granted bail to Paul in a case registered at the Bhangagarh Police Station in Guwahati.
The High Court order paved the way for the release of Paul from jail after around six years, as he has already secured bail in four other cases related to the Assam cash-for-job scam.
Paul was arrested in November 2016 and has been in jail since then.
The APSC cash-for-job scam is one of the biggest corruption scandals to have hit Assam in recent years.
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Paul was arrested in November 2016 and has been in judicial custody since then.
Paul was the chairman of the APSC between 2012 and 2019. The Enforcement Directorate slapped criminal charges against Paul on the basis of a state police FIR that alleged irregularities related to the recruitment of candidates in the Assam government services through the examination conducted by the APSC
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Bhangagarh police station case (No. 159/17) was registered against Paul on August 17 last year under Sections 120(B) (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating) and 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) of the IPC and Sections 7, 13(1)(a)(d)(iii) and 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act for allegedly demanding Rs 15 lakh from Bedanta Bikash Das for the post of agriculture development officer.