STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: Suspended IAS officer Sewali Devi Sarma, who was arrested in connection with a multi-crore-rupee scam in the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) in Ajmer, Rajasthan on Monday, was brought to Guwahati today. She will be produced in the court on Wednesday.
The Chief Minister’s Special Vigilance Cell (SVC) on Monday had arrested Sewali Devi Sarma, Rahul Amin and Ajit Pal Singh in Ajmer. A domestic help was also arrested but there are no charges against her. While Ajit Pal Singh is Sewali Devi Sarma’s son-in-law, Rahul Amin is a contractor.
On the other hand, the CM’s SVC had also arrested Sewali Devi Sarma’s younger daughter Bejeta Sarma in Guwahati on Monday. According to sources, Bejeta and Rahul Amin were partners in a firm. Bejeta Sarma allegedly received Rs 4.99 crore from the SCERT for various work orders. She was produced in the court and remanded to judicial custody.
Earlier, the CM’s SVC had arrested six people in connection with this scam. The arrested people included Rajesh Kumar Joshi, the elder son-in-law of Sewali Devi Sarma; former nodal officer-cum-deputy director of ODL, SCERT, Dr LN Sonowal; ODL, SCERT accountant Jaychandra Lahkar; stenographer Rubul Ali; LDA Ramijuddin; and CA and contractor Sarang More.
Alleged financial anomalies and fund misappropriation to the tune of Rs 105 crore took place in SCERT, Assam in the name of offering Diploma in Elementary Education (D.El.Ed) course under Open Distance Learning (ODL). The alleged financial irregularities took place between 2017 to 2022.
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