GUWAHATI, April 30 - In a major development, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has listed over 90 per cent of the total moveable and immoveable properties owned by prime accused in the Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) cash-for-job scam Rakesh Paul and his relatives as grossly disproportionate to their known sources of income.
�Paul himself owns 22 such properties, including residential flats and plots, which have been listed in the enquiry report submitted to the court on Monday. After calculating his income and going through all the records, it has been found that majority of the properties were bought after Paul became the chairman of the APSC,� CBI sources told The Assam Tribune.
The CBI has submitted the biggest ever list of properties, including benami properties, owned by Paul and his close relatives, which runs into several crores of rupees. These include several flats and plots owned by Paul in Guwahati and Kolkata, which had hitherto not come to the purview of the agencies probing the cash-for-job scam.
The annexure attached in the complete list submitted by the agency includes properties owned by Paul, his wife Sunanda Paul, his brother Rajib Paul and his brother-in-law among others.
�The report submitted by the CBI makes it evident that Paul had amassed properties in and outside the State from the ill-gotten money,� sources pointed out.
The CBI will now seek permission from the Gauhati High Court to lodge a formal first information report (FIR) against Paul to further investigate the matter.
�Most of the properties owned by Paul and his relatives are located in prime locations in Guwahati and some other States, sources stated, adding that once the court accepts the petition to file an FIR, the CBI will question all the accused including Paul and his wife.
This is for the first time that the complete list of properties owned by Paul and his close relatives has come to the fore.
The matter is expected to be heard by the court tomorrow or on Monday.
