APSC cash-for-job-scam: Assam govt to examine special judge’s order

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaJune 27, 2024

The Assam government will examine the judgement of the Special Judge on the cash-for-job scam in Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) in which the court rejected a chargesheet filed by an SP of Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Assam Police directing the government to engage another officer to probe into the case.

This was revealed by Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in a press conference following a cabinet meeting in Nalbari on Thursday.

The Special Judge, Assam Kamal Narayan Choudhury on June 26 rejected a supplementary chargesheet submitted by a senior IPS officer Prateek V Thube, who has conducted the probe into the cash-for-job scam in the APSC and directed the SIT headed by additional DGP (CID) Munna Prasad Gupta for further investigation by a new investigation officer not below the rank of DySP.

“We have to examine the order of the court. Our advocate general has been asked to study the judgement and suggest to me the corrective measures to be taken up in this regard,” Sarma said.

“I am surprised to see the court order. Why the court did not straightway summon the accused officers, whose names were not included in the chargesheet. The court has the power to do it. Earlier, former prime minister PV Narasimha Rao was also summoned by the court even as he was not chargesheeted by the investigating agency,” Sarma also said.

“Why did the court give the responsibility to an IO? If the court thinks, it can summon the accused. And we have to examine why the IO did not chargesheet the accused officers,” the chief minister said.

Senior IPS officer and Prateek V Thube, joint commissioner of Guwahati City Police, filed the supplementary chargesheet against three accused officers- Sukanya Das, Wahida Begum, A Nanda Babu Singh and Rakesh Das on June 20.

All these officials got selected as ACS and APS officers by manipulating the answer scripts of the Combined Competitive Examination (CCE) conducted by APSC in 2013 and 2014 depriving the genuine candidates.

However, the investigation officer stated nothing about the continuation of the chargesheet forcing the court to presume that it is not concluding supplementary chargesheet. The SIT conducted a probe against 39 officers who got selected to ACS and APS and other gazette rank officers through CCE. Of them, 32 are from the 2013 batch and 7 are from the 2014 batch.

The court order stated: “The SIT summoned all 39 officers and interrogated them and recorded their statements. So the SIT should come to a logical conclusion about the investigation done against them. Their names are to be reflected in column 10, or 11, particulars not chargesheeted in the supplementary chargesheet.”

“As the names of those accused persons whom the SIT examined are not reflected in the chargesheet it is difficult for the court to decide the case against them. It appears that during further investigation, the SIT examined several persons and also seized some documents. The findings of the IO so far 39 officers are concerned are shocking,” the court also said.

The court said as per the IO there are enhancements of marks in the final merit list against some candidates and without the enhanced marks in the answer scripts and their tabulation sheets they could not have been selected.

“Similarly, there are some candidates in respect of whose answer scripts, and marks actually secured by them and the marks shown secured in the final tabulation sheets are different. With such enhancements. Though they could get selection in the final merit list, there would be lifting of their service,” the court said in the order.

“The statement of the witness shows that the marks awarded by evaluators are manipulated. It appears from the relevant document that the marks of the suspected candidates enhanced from 107 to 187, from 69 to 129 and so on. It can be easily presumed that they have been given wrong full gain in the selection process by depriving genuine candidates,” the court further said.

“The IO opined that no prosecutable evidence has been found against the accused officers. However, according to the IO, the available material is insufficient to establish the personal involvement of the accused persons in the criminal conspiracy. However, it has been established that the said officers gained entry into the current service due to unauthorized enhancement of marks in their selection process,” the order stated.

“I found the opinion of the IO is self-contradictory. Of he could not collect prosecutable evidence against them how he suggests the concerned department to take action departmentally against them,” the judge said.

“I disagree with the findings of the IO so far findings of the accused officers against whom he has not submitted the chargesheet. The report of the IO that he could not collect prosecutable evidence against 39 officers is not acceptable,” the judge also said

“The head of the SIT is requested to engage a new investigation officer not below the rank of DSP to conduct further investigation of the case and submit the report in the final form within three months,” he added.