In a major development, the Assam Government has suspended 21 officer suspended. Which includes 11 from the Assam Police Service (APS) and four from the Assam Civil Service (ACS), under the Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) cash-for-job scam. The officers, who have collectively served in various positions for the past eight years. They are now facing the repercussions of their involvement in the scandal.
21 Officer suspended Orders:
In separate suspension orders issued by the Personnel Department on Thursday. It revealed that these officers benefited from “anomalies and malpractices” carried out by the APSC. The appointments were made through the manipulation of their originally scored marks in the final tabulation sheet, leading to fraudulent results.
21 Officer suspended officer Arrests and Suspects:
Among the suspended officers, two were arrested on November 22, while another was apprehended on Thursday. The scandal traces back to a combined competitive examination conducted by the APSC in 2013. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) named 34 officers as suspects in its final report.
Name of the suspended officer
- Akashee Duwarah, ACS
- Dhrubajyoti Hatibaruah, ACS
- Hitesh Mazumdar, ACS
- Dhiraj Kumar Jain, ACS
- Dipankar Dutta Lahkar, APS
- Nitu Moni Das, APS
- Rumir Timungi, APS
- Kalyan Kr Das, APS
- Faruk Ahmed, APS
- Kula Pradip Bhattacharya, APS
- Nilanjal Gogoi, APS
- Anal Jyoti Das, APS
- Nandini Kakati, APS
- Aoicharjya Jibon Baruah, APS
- Sajahan Sarkar, APS
- Saurav Pran Sharma, Inspector of Excise
- Bikash Sarma, ARCS
- Chakradhar Deka, ARCS
- Gitartha Baruah, Asst Employment Officer
- Bichitra Gopal Nath, Asst Employment Officer
- Rakesh Das, Asst Employment Officer
Scandal Unearthed by Whistleblower:
The cash-for-job scam came to light in 2016 when a doctor named Angshumita Gogoi tipped off the police in Dibrugarh after an assistant engineer offered her a job through the APSC in exchange for ₹10 lakh. The police caught the assistant engineer red-handed, accepting a bribe.
The then APSC chairperson and prime accused, Rakesh Kumar Paul, along with others, arrested based on the assistant engineer’s confession. Paul granted bail in March after spending six years in jail. The suspended officers were recommended for appointment by the APSC through the enhancement of their originally scored marks.
Government’s Response:
The Home Department of the state government, in the suspension order, highlighted the APSC’s involvement in “anomalies and malpractices” during the selection process. The now-suspended officers received recommendations for appointment by the manipulation of their marks, as stated in the final tabulation sheet.
Assam’s Director General of Police (DGP), GP Singh, affirmed on Friday that nobody found with prosecutable evidence will spare. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) is conducting a legal investigation, and the government has initiated departmental proceedings against the implicated officers.
The SIT formed by the DGP following Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s directive in October to investigate the allegations against the 34 officers named in the nine-page tabulation sheet. The government is committed to ensuring accountability and justice in the wake of this widespread corruption scandal.
