Job Scam: Former Assam Public Service Commisson Chairman Gets 14 Years Jail

• By Thetripurapost Desk, Agartala
• Jul 31, 2024
• 351

Former Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) chairman Rakesh Paul has been sentenced to 14 years in prison by a special court. 

This sentence was given on Monday in the case of giving jobs in exchange for money related to the recruitment of agricultural development officers in Assam. 

Special Judge Dipankar Thakuria in his order sentenced two other former APSC members Basanta Kumar Doley and Samedur Rahman to 10 years, while 29 others were sentenced to four years. 

Paul and two other former members were sentenced to seven years rigorous imprisonment in a case of cheating, seven years for forgery and 10 years for cases registered under various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act. 

In Paul's case, the sentence will run consecutively, but according to the Code of Criminal Procedure, a person convicted in such a case can remain in jail for a maximum of 14 years, so he will serve 14 years in jail. 

This case is related to the examination held in 2014. The commission headed by Paul had selected 80 candidates. An unsuccessful candidate, Vedant Bikash Das, had filed an FIR in 2017 raising questions on the selection process. Das had cleared the screening test and given the viva in 2015, but could not succeed. 

He alleged that Paul and his associate Mosarraf Hussain had demanded Rs 15 lakh from him. After this, an investigation began and a trial was held.

On July 22 this year, Special Judge Deepak Thakuria found Paul, Rehman, Dole and 29 candidates guilty. Their sentence was announced on Monday. Paul has been sentenced to seven years each under two sections of the IPC and one section of the Prevention of Corruption Act, besides 10 years under another section of the Anti-Corruption Act