Staff Reporter
ITANAGAR, Mar 12: The sessions court in Yupia on Thursday rejected the bail plea of former Arunachal Pradesh Staff Selection Board (APSSB) undersecretary, Kapter Ringu, who has been named in the cash-for-job scam at the APSSB.
Ringu was the undersecretary of the APSSB before being suspended for her involvement in the scam related to the common exam for the posts of LDCs, JSAs and others.
The special investigation cell (SIC) has registered a case (No 03/20 u/s 468/469/471/ 120B IPC r/w Section 13(2) PC Act) against Ringu. She was arrested by the SIC on 20 February.
Ringu’s counsel argued that “the accused is a responsible citizen and a gold medal awardee officer of the state government.
“The accused has already been suspended from service and there is no question of running away from the court of law,” the counsel submitted.
However, public prosecutor K Bagra objected to the bail petition, stating that “the accused is one of the main persons in the case who manipulated the examination process by taking out the OMR sheets from the strong room after collecting money from candidates.”
Bagra also argued that “crores of rupees were found deposited within one and two months in the bank account of the accused, and the accused has no explanation for the same.”
Ringu’s bank account was frozen after her arrest.
The public prosecutor further argued that candidates who got selected after giving money, and the brokers who collected the money from the candidates and gave it to the accused, are yet to be arrested, “and the present accused will be required to be interrogated along with them.”
Rejecting the bail application, Special Judge Nani Grayu observed: “Considering the magnitude and the seriousness of the case, this court feels that the investigation agency should be given a free hand to complete the investigation in a proper manner. Granting bail to the accused at this stage may hamper investigation. Therefore, this court is not inclined to grant bail to the accused at this stage.”
Meanwhile, the two-member high-level inquiry committee constituted by the state government invited members of the APSSB aspirants’ Interim Committee for Justice and Reformation (ICJR) on Thursday to hold discussions on the issue “from the candidates’ perspective,” and reportedly sought suggestions for improving the board and its recruitment process.
One of the candidates, Tadar Kaming, informed that they asked the committee to furnish the answer keys after examination; display the names, roll numbers and marks of the shortlisted candidates in any examination; bring the APSSB under the purview of the RTI; and declare the results of any examination within three days.
“The committee members heard our presentation and assured us that these points would be recommended in their report. They said they would put their best efforts to unearth the truth and point out where the former members showed negligence in their duties,” Kaming said.
The candidates also asked the new APSSB secretary to explore the feasibility of conducting “computer-based tests in the examination process.”
“We are hopeful that justice will be delivered soon and a revamped SSB will regain the lost trust of the youths of the state,” Kaming said.
