Gauhati High Court denies pre-arrest bail to Atika Sultana

Bribery scam in Gaon Burah appointment

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The Gauhati High has rejected a pre-arrest bail petition filed by Atika Sultana, who has been accused last year by the Chief Minister's Special Vigilance Cell of having illegally appointed 70 Gaon Burahs in South Salmara district in lieu of money during her tenure as Deputy Commissioner.

It may be mentioned that the then Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) of South Salmara, Saibar Rahman, is also accused in the case and he is currently in jail.

Hearing Sultana's pre-arrest bail petition on Tuesday, Justice Rumi Kumari Phukan accepted the additional public prosecutor's submission that "the law relating to corruption by a public servant is a distinct offence than that of general offence and the investigation of such cases should be carried out in a fair manner and the very object of the Act was to make effective provisions for prevention of rampant corruption among public servants." The assistant public prosecutor referred to relevant decisions laid down by the Supreme Court in six similar cases.

The judge noted that "… having regard to the nature and gravity of offence, this Court is of the opinion that it is not a fit case to grant the privilege of pre-arrest bail…"

It may be recalled that west zone unit of the Sadow Assam Gaon Burah Santha had lodged a complaint with the Chief Minister on September 30, 2021 alleging that the then Deputy Commissioner Atika Sultana, the then ADC Saibar Rahman and a few others had illegally appointed 70 Gaon Burahs in 2017-2018 by taking bribes which ranged from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 12 lakh against each post.

Following the Chief Minister's directive, the Chief Minister's Special Vigilance Cell had registered a case (No 05/2021) in this connection.

According to sources, Atika Sultana has been interrogated several times so far by the Chief Minister's Special Vigilance Cell and a supplementary charge-sheet under Section 173 (8) of the CrPC will be filed soon against her and a few others.

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