GUWAHATI, June 29 - The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has begun a parallel probe into the cash-for-job scam in the Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, and has already secured permission from the Court of Special Judge, Assam (Guwahati) to interrogate the accused.
The ED, on the strength of a prayer made before the court, has secured permission to interrogate prime accused and suspended former Chairman of the APSC, Rakesh Kumar Paul, along with co-accused and suspended member of the Commission, Samedur Rahman.
A certified copy of the order accessed by The Assam Tribune states that a petition was filed by Sanjoy Bhattacharya, Assistant Director of the ED, seeking permission to interrogate both Paul and Rahman in connection with ECIR/02/GWZO/2017 on June 20. The case has been registered under Section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.
Both Paul and Rahman, who are currently detained in the Guwahati Central Jail in connection with the Dibrugarh police station case number 936/2016, are expected to be questioned very soon by a team of ED inside the jail premises itself.
The court has already issued direction to the authority of the Guwahati Central Jail to make necessary arrangements to facilitate interrogation of the accused.
Sources informed that a special team has been constituted by the ED to look into the money laundering aspects, and, if required, the other arrested accused will also be quizzed.
�A clear case of money laundering is made out going by the size of the scam. Investigators would soon assess the details of assets and liabilities besides the benami properties owned by the accused,� sources stated.
Meanwhile, specimen signatures of 27 invigilators, who were called in the Special Branch headquarters here, were collected and would be sent for forensic examination.
�We believe that the specimen signatures on the answer scripts of many accused candidates were forged by Paul and company. This is why we have collected the original signatures of the invigilators, which will be matched with those found in the seized answer scripts,� sources added.
