Wahed Ali, a former employee of Gauhati High Court, was convicted on Wednesday and has been sent behind bars for four years. He has been charged with corruption.
According to a report published in the TOI, a special court in Guwahati has sentenced him to four years’ rigorous imprisonment (RI) and has imposed a fine of Rs 8 lakhs on him. If Ali fails to pay the said amount, he would have to serve one more year of imprisonment.
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It is alleged that Ali, while working as a record arranger of Gauhati HC, had inflated the amount of the money of 214 bills by inserting, overwriting and erasing the figures and drawing money of over Rs 21 lakhs, which was more than the specified amount of Rs 10 lakhs. Apart from financial irregularities, it has also been found that Ali is in possession of property disproportionate to his known source of income.
Since the Sonowal Government has taken over the reins of power in Dispur in 2016, it has, indeed, sent many people behind bars on charges of graft – prominent among them being the former Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) Chairman, Rakesh Paul, who is still cooling his heels (bail applications being rejected repeatedly) in the Guwahati Central Jail for the alleged APSC cash-for-job scam.
The Chief Minister, Sarbananda Sonowal, has maintained from the very beginning that it has taken a “zero tolerance” stand against corruption and no corrupt official will be spared. Last year, in September 2017, the Chirang Deputy Commissioner (DC), Binod Deka, was suspended from service as per the CM’s directive following a report by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption.
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Despite Dispur’s tough stance on corruption, a recent World Bank report has it that Assam has been considered as the fifth State in the list of ‘most corrupt’ States in India!