APSC Scam: Prime Accused Rakesh Paul Granted Bail

GUWAHATI: Rakesh Paul, the primary defendant in the Assam Public Service Commission's "cash-for-jobs" fraud, has had his bail request approved by the Gauhati High Court.

In a case brought by the Bhangagarh Police Station relating the Agricultural Development Officer (ADO) bribery issue, the high court approved Rakesh Paul's request for bail on Friday. Paul's bail request was turned down by the special judge's court in the cash-for-jobs fraud for the eighth time in December.

Paul has been granted bail in connection with three additional cases against him that have emerged in the interim. The court allegedly stated at the hearing on his bail application that it was not the appropriate moment to release him on bond.

It should be mentioned that one of the two contenders for the position of ADO, Bedanta Bikash Das, acknowledged paying Rakesh Paul, the then-APSC Chairman, Rs. 50,000 in bribes in order to be hired.

He filed a case at the Bhangagarh Police Station against the other applicant, Mrigen Haloi, and requested that appropriate action be taken against him when he was unsuccessful in getting the job.

Rakesh Paul's bail request was turned down by the special judge's court in connection with the APSC recruiting scandal for the sixth time in September 2022. The government was represented by attorney Makhan Phukan, who provided the court with information about the situation.

The lower court had been ordered by the HC to wrap up his trial in six months. The former APSC chairman, Rakesh Paul, was detained in November 2016 and imprisoned for more than five years.

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