Book big fishes, APW on agriculture scam

By our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, Feb 25: The APW has said that the arrest of five Agriculture officers yesterday in connection with the Rs 700-crore scam in the department has proved it in no uncertain terms that there was corruption in the Department when the Congress was in power in the State.

In a statement issued to the press today, APW's publicity secretary Rajib Deka said: "We kept revealing various corruption cases in the State with documents in the face of the Congress government rubbishing them as false. That prompted bureaucrats and ministers to be neck deep in corrupt practices."

The CID yesterday arrested Birendra th Sarma, the then SDAO, Golaghat and currently DAO, Jorhat; Lakheswar Gam, the then assistant executive engineer, Golaghat and currently assistant engineer, Gohpur; Dilip Baruah, the then executive engineer, gaon and currently executive engineer (WM), Khapara; Rohit Bharali, currently junior engineer, gaon and Ranbir Kakoty, currently executive engineer, gaon.

The Assam Public Works (APW) did file a case (no. 56/14) in the Rs 700 crore scam relating to RKVY and BGREI schemes on September 1, 2014.

Deka said: "We won't say that the arrested officers are innocent. However, they're just small fries. The big fishes are others. We want the ministers and top officers, who had embezzled the amount meant for target beneficiaries by producing fake information, should be brought under the purview of the investigation and punished."