Assam SP sent to 5 days' police custody in exam paper leak scam

A local court on Friday remanded Kumar Sanjit Krishna, an SP who was arrested in connection with the Assam Police job exam paper leak scam, to five days police custody.

The CID arrested the Assam Police Service (ASP) officer, who is the brother of the state chief secretary, on Thursday night after a marathon interrogation.

Krishna was produced before Chief Judicial Magistrate, Kamrup Metro, Devashish Hazarika, who remanded him to five days police custody.

The court also extended the police custody of Suraj Sarma and Rubul Hazarika, who are also accused in the question paper leak case, for five more days.

On September 20, the question paper of the written examination for 597 posts of unarmed sub-inspectors in Assam Police got leaked and the State Level Police Recruitment Board cancelled the test minutes after it had commenced across the state.

So far, multiple agencies of Assam Police have arrested 51 people, including retired DIG Prasanta Kumar Dutta and BJP leader Diban Deka who was later expelled from the party, from different parts of the state and outside.

The scam has rocked the state, providing ammunition to the opposition months before the Assembly election which is likely to be held in March-April next year.

Krishna is the highest ranked serving official of the Assam government arrested so far in the scam.

He was the SP of Karimganj district where the question paper was allegedly leaked at his behest in his residence in presence of other accused persons, some of whom have already been arrested, police sources said.

He was transferred to Barpeta district as the SP of the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) on October 11, which was a Sunday.

Krishna's official residence in Karimganj was searched on Sunday and Tuesday, while his personal house in Guwahati was searched by the CID on Wednesday.

Krishna, who was suspected to be absconding on Wednesday, reached the Police Headquarters in Ulubari area of Guwahati at around 11 am on Thursday and he was questioned by top officials of Assam Police the whole day. He was arrested at night.

Assam Chief Secretary Kumar Sanjay Krishna had said in a Facebook post on Tuesday that if his brother has done something wrong, "the law will take its own course on the basis of evidence".

"As Chief Secretary, I have been supporting on independent and neutral enquiry from the beginning...and I believe whoever is guilty will be brought to justice," he had said.