DIG Rounak Ali Hazarika arrested by CMs Special Vigilance Cell in Guwahati

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Deputy Inspector General (DIG-Border) Rounak Ali Hazarika was on Tuesday arrested by Chief Minister's Special Vigilance Cell in connection with a disproportionate assets (DA) case.

Hazarika, who was suspended on July 20 this year for his several foreign trips without prior permission from higher-ups, was arrested by a team of CM's

Special Vigilance Cell from his Hengrabari residence, sources here said. He will be produced before the court of the Special Judge here on Wednesday.

Based on specific inputs, the Superintendent of Police, CM's Special Vigilance Cell conducted a preliminary enquiry on the disproportionate case of the senior IPS officer. Finally, a case was registered in the Vigilance PS case No. 06/2021 under sections 13(1)(a)(b)/13 (2) of Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018 initiated as per approval of Chief Minister Vide No. U/O No.CMS (V) 07/2021 on October 5 this year.

"During the enquiry, it is found that Rounak Ali Hazarika possessed immovable and movable assets disproportionate to his known sources of income during the period from 1992 to 2021. It was also found that Raunak Ali Hazarika incurred expenditure to the tune of Rs 1,74,12,974 as educational expenditure of his two children to date," said a senior police official.

"The international travel history of Rounak All Hazarika has been collected and it revealed that he had left the country and travelled abroad nine times without permission from the competent authority," the official said.

Apart from his house at Hengrabari, the senior IPS officer also acquired a house at Dhirenpara (which has been used as a godown) and in the Down Town area in Guwahati and a resort (in his wife's name) in Shimla city.

Apart from salary account in State Bank of India (SBI), the officer and his family members have accounts in Axis Bank, Yes Bank etc., and huge amounts are found to be deposited in cash while he was posted in Bongaigaon from 2019 to 2021, he said.

"The facts and circumstances are sufficient evidence against Rounak Ali Hazanka for intentionally enriching himself illicitly during the period of his office which is in contravention to Section 2(c) of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018," he further said.

"Hazarika being a public servant owns disproportionate assets which are criminal misconduct under Section 13(1) (b) of the PC (Amendment) Act, 2018. He owned assets that are out of sync with his legal sources of income where his net economic assets significantly exceeded the assets he should possess after accounting for the assets that he previously held and all legal sources of income," the official also said.

Hazarika was unable to satisfactorily account for how he could amass the pecuniary resources (cash deposits/cheque deposits in his bank accounts from unknown sources from 2019 to 2020 which is disproportionate to his known sources of income, he further said.

The percentage of his disproportionate assets is found to be 164.80%. The inventory memo is being prepared and sufficient corroborative evidence like foreign currencies have been recovered from his residence, he added.

Notably, two other criminal cases (CID PS case No 33/2016 and Paltan Bazar PS case 412/2017) have been pending disposal against the senior IPS officer.

Also Read: IPS officer Rounak Ali Hazarika suspended for 'numerous' foreign tours

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