Debabrata Saikia suggests enquiry by sitting judge of Court

GUWAHATI: Leader of the Opposition in the Assam Legislative Assembly Debabrata Saikia has slammed Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal over the police recruitment scandal which has rocked the State.

Alleging Sonowal of influencing the police to divert the investigation into a maze, Saikia said the need of the hour is to institute an enquiry by a sitting judge of the Gauhati High Court to get to the bottom of the matter.

Saikia said Sonowal has disheartened the people of Assam, especially the youths, by his 'lame statements' and insipid role in connection with the scam.

"Each and every recruitment test conducted by various departments during the tenure of the incumbent State government has been marred by severe irregularities and several deprived candidates have been forced to knock on the doors of the Gauhati High Court," the leader said.

He urged the CM to take certain bold steps to ensure that the employment avenues of young men and women of Assam are not usurped by corrupt middlemen and touts.

Some such steps as suggested by Saikia are:

< An enquiry by a sitting judge of the Gauhati High Court should be instituted without delay to probe every aspect of the scam.

< The probe should ascertain the circumstances under which former DIG P.K. Dutta and BJP leader Dibon Deka managed to abscond, with particular attention being paid to the question of whether they were helped to flee by the Government itself.

< The government should not make the mistake of holding the written test for recruitment of SIs till such time as the judicial probe ascertains whether any member of the SLPRB is involved in the scandal.

< In the wake of the latest scandal, the government should prove its commitment to corruption-free governance by putting on hold the directives issued to the SLPRB between June and September this year regarding new recruitment to the state's Excise Department, Directorate of Employment & Craftsmen Training and the Directorate of Economics & Statistics.

< In the interest of a fair investigation, Pradeep Kumar should not be allowed to quit as Chairman of the State Level Police Recruitment Board till the probe is completed.

< The judicial enquiry should go into how and why firms such as Amain Tech Consultants Private Limited, Bloom Electronics, Akshay Communication, Aptech etc have been allowed to conduct one controversy-marred recruitment test after another in Assam during the tenure of the Sonowal Ministry. Further, it should be ascertained as to whether there was any provision for awarding sub-contracts in the principal agreement and, if so, why?

Also watch: Look at How Cars are Crossing Roads in West Karbi Anglong