Guwahati, July 29: A special court in Guwahati has sentenced former Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) Chairman Rakesh Kumar Paul to 14 years rigorous imprisonment in the Cash-for-Job scam related to the recruitment of Agriculture Development Officers in Assam.
Paul has been sentenced under Sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act and Sections 416 and 120B of the IPC and also imposed with a Rs 2 lakh fine.
Paul is already serving five and a half years in jail.
Rakesh Paul, once a lawyer at a local court in Tura, was the mastermind of the scam that broke out in 2017.
After his tenure as a lawyer, Paul went on to become the chairman of the Assam Public Service Commission (APSC). Originally from Nakham Bazaar in Tura and a former preacher at Satsang Vihar, he now faces a 14-year jail term and a fine of Rs 2 lakh under various IPC sections. Paul was arrested on August 17, 2017, and was released on bail on March 28, 2023.
Paul’s sentences include seven years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 50,000 under section 420 of IPC, seven years and Rs 50,000 under section 468 of IPC, seven years and Rs 50,000 under section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, and ten years and Rs 50,000 under section 13(2) of the same act, all read with section 120-B of IPC. As per section 31(2)(a) of CrPC, his total jail term will not exceed 14 years, and the time he has already spent in detention will be subtracted from his sentence.
Two other APSC members, Basanta Kumar Doley and Samedur Rahman, were sentenced to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs 50,000 each under section 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act read with section 120-B of IPC. Additionally, 29 others, including ADOs, were sentenced to four years of rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs 10,000 each under sections 120-B, 420, and 468 of IPC.
The ADO recruitment scam, part of a broader APSC cash-for-job scam, involved irregularities in the selection process for positions advertised in 2013. Candidates allegedly bribed APSC officials for selection. The scam came to light during the tenure of Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, who ordered a probe. A total of 44 individuals were accused, including four commission members, one APSC employee, three middlemen, and 36 candidates. Eleven were acquitted, including middlemen Vikash Pincha, Kunal Das, Kaushik Kalita, APSC employee Syed Musharraf Hussain, and candidates Beauty Gogoi, Phiruj Moran, Jyotiban Dutta, Saijali, Dhritiman Roy, Mousumi Saikia, and Boichitra Hakmaosa. Binata Rynjha was declared an approver.
The judgment was based on a case registered with the Bhangagarh police station (case number 159/2017) under sections 120(B), 420, and 468 of IPC, read with sections 7 and 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The investigation, led by ACP Dispur Sujit Saikia and Subhasish Baruah, resulted in multiple supplementary charge sheets filed between 2017 and 2020.The MOTC, Dr. SR Marak delivered the welcome address while the District Tuberculosis Officer, Dr. Chrissie Pearly M Sangma spoke at length on TB and its treatment and the factors on the basis of which the villages were declared TB free.
The other highlights of the felicitation program included the presentation of a song by the youngest, the 11 year old Nikshay Mitra, Youngley Cherikam Ch Momin and a testimony by a TB champion.
On this occasion, a song entitled “TB Sabisi Nampilna Man•a” was also released by the Chief Guest which was sang by one of the talented singer of Garo Hills, Enosh Sangma. Let’s have a glimse of this music video. To view the full song, you can go to Enosh Sangma’s personal YoTube Channel.
