Assam: Senior SEBA official caught red-handed while taking bribe of Rs. 8,000, arrested

Guwahati: A 12-member team of the anti-corruption bureau today arrested an Assistant Secretary of the Board of Secondary Education, Assam (SEBA) for allegedly taking a bribe of Rs. 8,000.

Hemanta Deka, a senior official of Assam's SEBA board, has landed behind bars after allegations surfaced that he had sought a bribe of Rs. 8,000 from a guardian for changing a name in his daughter's 10th exam (HSLC) documents.

The guardian, a Shivkumar Bhujel, approached the authorities to take action against the corrupt official, after which an operation was launched. Today, the senior SEBA official was caught red-handed while taking the bribe from the guardian.

"I had given him (Deka) an application to change my name which was mis-spelled in my daughter's document. He said that the procedure would take a long time. I requested him to change it, as my child's future depends on it. He said that he would do it, but I would have to pay him a sum of Rs. 10,000. I said that I could not pay him the entire amount, as I do a petty job. He agreed to do the job in exchange for a sum of Rs. 8,000," Shivkumar Bhujel said.

According to reports, Deka had been carrying out corrupt practices for a long time owing to which he had come under the police's scanner.

In today's operation at the SEBA office, which lasted for around 5 hours, the 12-member team of the anti-corruption watchdog unearthed several incriminating documents.

Hemanta Deka, the accused, is currently being interrogated by the anti-corruption body.

This is a developing story. Stay tuned to The Sentinel Digital for more updates.

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