GUWAHATI: Former Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) chairman Rakesh Paul, who was arrested more than six years ago in connection with the cash-for-jobs case, walked out of prison on Tuesday four days after the Gauhati high court granted him bail.
“I am happy with the high court’s decision. Since the case is sub judice, I would not like to comment on it. I had a good experience inside jail and worked on several social and religious causes,” Paul told reporters after his release.
Paul was granted bail in a case registered by Bhangagarh police in Guwahati on charges that he received a ₹50,000 bribe from a candidate, Bedanta Bikash Das, to get appointed as an agriculture development officer.
When Das didn’t get the job, he lodged a case against Paul and another candidate who was appointed and sought action against them.
Paul was arrested in November 2016 and has been in prison since then. He is also an accused in four other cases in which he had been named as accused.
The APSC cash-for-job scam had come to light in 2016 when many successful candidates including Assam Civil Service (ACS) and Assam Police Service (APS) officers who appeared in the Combined Competitive Examination 2013 were alleged to have indulged in irregular practices in cahoots with Paul, the then APSC chairman.
{{/usCountry}}The APSC cash-for-job scam had come to light in 2016 when many successful candidates including Assam Civil Service (ACS) and Assam Police Service (APS) officers who appeared in the Combined Competitive Examination 2013 were alleged to have indulged in irregular practices in cahoots with Paul, the then APSC chairman.
{{/usCountry}}Following the revelations, police lodged several cases and arrested 60 serving officers from the CCE, 2013 batch. Last week, the state government told the assembly that 57 civil servants from the 2013, 2015 and 2016 batches who were arrested in the recruitment scandal have been dismissed from service while three accused officers and three APSC officials had turned approvers.
In April last year, the Assam cabinet decided to set up a high-level committee to decide on the action to be taken in view of the irregularities in the 2013 exam. The result of the 2013 exam were declared in May 2015.
The move followed the submission of a 700-page report by justice Biplab Kumar Sharma commission. The commission was formed by the state government following directions by the Gauhati high court.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told the assembly that the Sarma commission’s report is yet to be accepted by the government and it had been forwarded to another committee for review.