APSC Cash-For-Job Scam: Court rejects SIT’s supplementary chargesheet, asks for further probe

SIT files supplementary chargesheet without naming 39 accused officers

GUWAHATI, JUNE 27: The court of the Special Judge, Assam on Wednesday rejected a supplementary chargesheet submitted by a senior IPS officer Prateek V Thube, who is conducting a probe into the cash-for-jib scam in the Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) and directed the Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by additional DGP (CID) Munna Prasad Gupta for further investigation by a new investigation officer not below the rank of DySP.

Thube submitted a supplementary chargesheet against three accused officers- Sukanya Das, Wahida Begum, A Nanda Babu Singh and Rakesh Das on June 20. All the accused are on bail.

In the chargesheet, the investigation officer stated nothing about the continuation of the chargesheet under section 173 of CrPC forcing the court to presume that it is not concluding supplementary chargesheet.

The SIT conducted a probe against 39 officers who got selected to ACS and APS and other gazette rank officers through a Combined Competitive Examination (CCE) conducted by the APSC in 2013 and 2014.

Of suspected 39 officers, 32 are from the 2013 batch and 7 are from the 2014 batch.

“The SIT summoned them interrogated them and recorded their statements. So the SIT should come to a logical conclusion about the investigation done against them. Their names are to be reflected in column 10, or 11, particulars not chargesheeted in the supplementary chargesheet,” the special judge Kamal Kumar Choudhury stated in the order.

“As the names of those accused persons whom the SIT examined are not reflected in the chargesheet it is difficult for the court to decide the case against them. It appears that during further investigation, the SIT examined several persons and also seized some documents. The findings of the IO so far 39 officers are concerned are shocking,” the court also said.

The court said as per the IO there are enhancements of marks in the final merit list against some candidates and without the enhanced marks in the answer scripts and their tabulation sheets they could not have been selected.

“Similarly, there are some candidates in respect of whose answer scripts, and marks actually secured by them and the marks shown secured in the final tabulation sheets are different. With such enhancements. Though they could get selection in the final merit list, there would be lifting of their service,” the court said in the order.

“The statement of the witness shows that the marks awarded by evaluators are manipulated. It appears from the relevant document that the marks of the suspected candidates enhanced from 107 to 187, from 69 to 129 and so on. It can be easily presumed that they have been given wrong full gain in the selection process by depriving genuine candidates,” the court further said.

“The IO opined that no prosecutable evidence has been found against the accused officers.

However, according to the IO, the available material is insufficient to establish the personal involvement of the accused persons in the criminal conspiracy. However, it has been established that the said officers gained entry into the current service due to unauthorized enhancement of marks in their selection process,” the order stated.

“I found the opinion of the IO is self-contradictory. Of he could not collect prosecutable evidence against them how he suggests the concerned department to take action departmentally against them,” the judge said.

“I disagree with the findings of the IO so far findings of the accused officers against whom he has not submitted the chargesheet. The report of the IO that he could not collect prosecutable evidence against 39 officers is not acceptable,” the judge also said
“The head of the SIT is requested to engage a new investigation officer not below the rank of DSP to conduct further investigation of the case and submit the report in the final form within three months,” he added.