BJP leader surrenders in Assam police recruitment scam, arrested and expelled from party

Diban Deka, BJP leader and one of the prime accused in Assam police recruitment scam who surrendered to the police at Barpeta, has been taken into custody and expelled from the party on Thursday. Deka was taken into custody soon after his surrender at Pathacharkuchi in Barpeta district late on Wednesday night, police said. He had been absconding since the scam came to light.

Diban Deka, BJP leader and one of the prime accused in Assam police recruitment scam who surrendered to the police at Barpeta, has been taken into custody and expelled from the party on Thursday. Deka was taken into custody soon after his surrender at Pathacharkuchi in Barpeta district late on Wednesday night, police said.

He had been absconding since the scam came to light. He was brought here for interrogation, the officer said.

Deka was produced at the court of Kamrup chief judicial magistrate and remanded to the custody of Guwahati City Police crime branch for five days. A BJP spokesman said the state unit of the party expelled Deka with immediate effect after his arrest.

Deka had identified himself on Facebook as the national executive member of BJP's Kisan Morcha and had contested Assam assembly poll as a BJP candidate in 2011 and was also expecting to contest the 2021 polls. With his arrest the total number of people apprehended in connection with the question paper leak for the police sub-inspector recruitment examination in the state has gone upto 25.

Deka was absconding along with retired DIG P K Dutta and the police had issued look out notices and announced cash award of Rs one lakh to anyone whose information would lead to the arrest of Deka and Dutta. The ex-DIG is yet to be traced and it is suspected that he is currently somewhere along the Indo-Nepal border.

Deka was questioned by the CID after the question paper leak came to light but was allowed to go as there was "no circumstantial evidence against him". Following this he absconded after a post on Facebook in which he claimed that his life was in danger. Deka had posted on September 24 that he was involved in the examination process and has "left Assam" as he "might be killed anytime because many big and corrupt officials are involved in the scam".

The question paper of the written examination for 597 posts of unarmed sub-inspectors in Assam Police was leaked before the beginning of the examination on September 20 and the State Level Police Recruitment Board (SLPRB) cancelled the test minutes after it had commenced across the state The SLPRB Chairman Pradeep Kumar subsequently resigned on September 27 taking "moral responsibility" for the question paper leak..

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