Ex-Assam PSC chief sentenced to 14 years imprisonment in recruitment case

Twenty-nine others, including agriculture development officers (ADOs) who were recruited using unfair means, were sentenced to four years of imprisonment and fine ₹10,000 each

Former chairman of Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) Rakesh Kumar Paul was sentenced to 14 years of jail in connection with a case involving irregularities in recruitment of agriculture development officers (ADOs) and imposed a fine of ₹2 lakh.

Two other APSC members were convicted to ten years each and imposed fines of ₹50,000. (Representative file photo)

Two other APSC members, Samedur Rahman and Basanta Kumar Doley, were convicted to ten years each and imposed fines of ₹50,000.

Twenty-nine others, including ADPOs who were recruited using unfair means, were sentenced to four years of imprisonment and fine ₹10,000 each.

On July 22, the special court had convicted Paul, Rahman, Doley and 29 others in the case.

Eleven others were pronounced non-guilty while one accused had turned approver.

A case against former APSC chairman Rakesh Paul and 43 others was lodged in 2017 following a complaint by an ADO job applicant, who alleged that Paul and others had asked for a bribe of ₹15 lakh for a job.

The special court pronounced ten of the accused as not guilty, while one accused turned approver.

To be sure, Paul, who is at present on bail, and 66 others are already facing trial in a separate cash-for-jobs case involving vacancies in state civil and police services during the civil service examinations in 2013.

In the present case, examinations for the posts of ADOs were conducted in 2015 and the results were declared in 2016. After the case was lodged in 2017, the police examined 1,075 candidates who had appeared for the exam and found that marks secured by 27 candidates were altered and increased.