GUWAHATI: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) intensified its crackdown on the Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) cash-for-job scam, making its fifth arrest in connection on Friday.
Wahida Begum, the superintendent of taxes from Nagaon district, was taken into custody in Diphu, Karbi Anglong, and is would be brought to the Crime Investigation Department (CID) office in Guwahati by tonight.
The arrest follows the earlier detention of four officers involved in the 2013 exam – Sukanya Das, Rakesh Das, Shahjahan Sarkar, and Aishwarya Jeevan Baruah.
The APSC cash-for-job scam, which unfolded during the 2013 and 2014 recruitment processes, has sent shockwaves through Assam’s administrative circles.
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Interestingly, Begum is reportedly the first candidate to be arrested from the 2014 APSC batch. The previous four arrests were of candidates who appeared in the 2013 examination.
Last week, the government has suspended 21 high-ranked government officers for their alleged involvement in a cash-for-job scam. Those suspended include 11 Assam Police Service officers and four Assam Civil Service officers – Akashee Duwarah, Dhrubajyoti Hatibaruah, Hitesh Mazumdar, and Dhiraj Kumar Jain.
All the 21 individuals face serious allegations of irregularities during the APSC Combined Competitive Examination in 2013.
Notably, on November 29, the police successfully apprehended ACS officer Das, Assistant Employment Officer, who had been on the run from the authorities.
Among the five arrests, Rakesh Das was the latest. He was picked up from Guwahati’s Six-Mile area following an extensive search, marking a significant breakthrough in the scandal.
