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Assam BJP leader arrested in connection with police recruitment scam
Diban Deka and retired IPS officer PK Dutta are accused of getting hold of the question paper and giving it to select candidates, who had allegedly paid them in cash
A leader of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Assam has been arrested for his alleged involvement in a paper leak scam related to a written examination to recruit 587 police sub-inspectors (S-Is).
The examination to recruit the S-Is was cancelled following the paper leak on social media on September 20.
Diban Deka (43), who had unsuccessfully contested as a BJP candidate from the Barkhetri assembly seat in Assam’s Nalbari district in 2011, was arrested from Patacharkuchi in newly created Bajali district late at night on Wednesday, 10 days after the scam was unearthed.
According to the police, a team from the crime branch of Guwahati police was dispatched to lower Assam on Wednesday morning based on credible information about movement of Deka.
“At about 2345 hours (11.45pm), during checking near Pathsala town, Diban Deka was found travelling with his wife. He was detained and brought to Guwahati under a strong police escort,” said an Assam Police release.
He was produced in a city court which remanded him to five days of police custody.
“Deka was not an office bearer of any unit of the party. He was a primary member of BJP and following his arrest and involvement in the job scam, we have removed him from the party’s primary membership,” Assam BJP president Ranjeet Kumar Dass told journalists on Thursday.
Following the cancellation of the written exam, Deka, in a Facebook post, had admitted that he was associated with the company that was to conduct the recruitment of SIs. But he denied any involvement in the paper leak.
PK Dutta, another prime accused in the case and a retired Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, who is suspected to have lured the aspirants with the promise of S-I’s jobs in exchange for cash, is still absconding.
Nearly 66,000 aspirants were scheduled to appear for the cancelled examination.
Assam Police’s crime branch and the CID are probing the case and have arrested over a dozen suspects in the case.
Deka and Dutta are accused of getting hold of the question paper and giving it to select candidates, who had allegedly paid them in cash.
Investigation has revealed that several job aspirants had stayed at a hotel in Guwahati, which is owned by Dutta, and had appeared for a mock test in another hotel a day ahead of the written examination that was slated to be held on September 20.
“Deka had arranged for the question paper for the mock test conducted at a Guwahati hotel. We need to establish the link between Deka and Dutta,” Gyanendra Pratap Singh, additional director-general of police (ADGP) (law and order), Assam Police, had told media persons on Monday.
Earlier this week, Assam Police had issued a lookout notice for both Dutta and Deka and announced a cash reward of Rs 100,000 each for any information leading to the arrest of these absconders.
