Assam: Court Convicts APSC Chairman, 31 Others In Cash-For-Job Case

A special court on Monday convicted former Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) chairman Rakesh Kumar Paul and 31 others in connection with a cash-for-jobs case related to the appointment of agricultural development officers (ADO) in Assam.

Special Judge Dipankar Thakuria acquitted 11 others in connection with the case filed with the Bhangagarh police station here in 2017 for lack of evidence, while one person turned approver.

Paul, along with two other members of the commission, Basanta Kumar Doley and Samedur Rehman, and other officials and middlemen were convicted in the case for tampering marks of the candidates who had appeared in the ADO recruitment examination.

The judge was yet to announce the quantum of the sentence of the convicted persons.

A candidate, who had failed to qualify for the job, had registered a complaint and a case was filed, alleging that the marks of another candidate had been increased in lieu of financial transactions.

He had earlier filed an RTI for information related to changes in the tabulation of marks and claimed that he had registered the complaint on the basis of its report.

Paul, along with the other members and officials of the APSC, were arrested in connection with another cash-for-jobs case related to the Combined Competitive Examinations (CCE) for the recruitment of civil, police and other service officials.

The APSC was embroiled in a cash-for-jobs scam and the Assam Police had arrested nearly 70 people, including Paul and 57 civil service officials, since 2016.

Paul was arrested by Dibrugarh Police in November 2016 and released on bail in March 2023.

The case related to the CCE is currently being investigated by a Special Investigative Team (SIT) on the directive of the Gauhati High Court.