GUWAHATI: The Assam Police CID and crime branch sleuths on Friday expanded the scope of their probe into the police recruitment question paper leak and raided various locations, mainly unaccounted properties of an ex-DIG, across the state and unearthed about 8 kg of gold. The crime branch sleuths raided several properties of former DIG of Assam Police P K Dutta here, while the CID with the help of district police searched his addresses at Dibrugarh, Silchar and Nalbari.
Though no comments on the raids or investigation were made by the two agencies, senior police officials said that a “huge list of unaccounted properties” were unearthed.
These properties are purportedly owned by either the ex-DIG or his family members. Among the properties searched is a residential apartment at Dibrugarh, which is being constructed by Dutta, who owns Bhargav chain of luxury hotels in Guwahati.
The house of his father-in-law was also searched. During investigations the crime branch found that mock tests for examinees with the leaked question paper was held a day before the examination on September 20 was held in one of the hotels owned by him. The police has already arrested the owners of a lodge where a similar test of about 50 candidates were taken.
Around eight kg of gold and large number of documents were seized during the raids on Wednesday and Thursday at his residence at Hengerabari locality of the city. As per information he also owns tea gardens and more than 100 bighas of land in Dibrugarh.
At Silchar he reportedly has 1,400 bighas of rubber plantation. The probe team is also getting news of his involvement in land grabbing, syndicate and elephant smuggling, a senior police official said on condition of anonymity. The police personnel also searched the residences and other properties of senior BJP leader Diban Deka, who on Thursday said on social media that he was involved with the examination process and has left Assam as he might be “killed anytime” as “many big and corrupt officials” of Assam Police are involved in the scam.
Meanwhile, Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal told reporters on the sidelines of an official function that the government will not tolerate any action to endanger the future of the unemployed youths of the state.
“The police are investigating the matter very efficiently to nab the culprits. In the meantime instructions have been given to conduct the examination again in a completely transparent and clean way,” he added.
Already 10 persons, including a woman employee of the state government’s irrigation department and one from the special task force of Assam Police have been arrested so far. Over six others have been detained in connection with the scam from different parts of the state. Police said two employees of a corporate hospital here were picked up from its premises and detained. Question papers and other deatils of the examination were found in the hospital”s computers which are used by the two.
The hospital management has said that they have no link with the scandal and will extend full cooperation for the investigation.
On September 20, the question paper of the written examination for 597 posts of unarmed sub-inspectors in Assam Police was leaked and the authorities cancelled the test minutes after it had commenced across the state. Around 66,000 candidates had appeared for the written tests across 154 centres in all the districts.
On September 12 the State Level Police Recruitment Board chairman Pradip Kumar had issued a notice cautioning the candidates against touts after an audio clip that promised a job for the sub-inspector post against payment of Rs 4 lakh cash went viral. Sonowal has directed him to conduct the examination again within a month. He also asked the director general of police to identify the nexus which conspired to spoil the recruitment process and punish the culprits as soon as possible. (PTI)
