[ Bengia Ajum ]
ITANAGAR, 10 Nov: In a major embarrassment for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is probing the Arunachal Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) question paper leak scam, the Supreme Court on Friday granted bail to the main accused, Taket Jerang.
A double bench, comprising Justices BR Gavai and PK Mishra, granted Jerang bail for a bail bond of Rs 50,000. Further, Jerang will have to mark his attendance with the investigating officer every Monday at 11 am.
CBI counsel and senior advocate Vikramjeet Banerjee opposed his bail, but the double bench granted the bail to Jerang.
The decision to grant bail to Jerang comes at a time when there is growing frustration over the slow progress of the investigation being conducted by the CBI.
Recently, members of the Pan Arunachal Joint Steering Committee (PAJSC), which is spearheading the movement against the question paper leak scam, sat on a protest here, seeking fulfilment of the 13 demands it has placed before the government. The committee also raised serious concern over the slow pace of the investigation being conducted by the country’s premier investigation agency.
The CBI had taken over the investigation on 27 October this year after the state government had recommended a probe by the agency. The case was initially investigated by the capital police, and was later transferred to the Special Investigation Cell of the state police.
The paper leak incident came to light after whistleblower (late) Gyamar Padang, who himself was a candidate in the assistant engineer (civil) exam for 2021, filed a complaint at the Itanagar police station on 29 August, claiming that he suspected that the AE (civil) examination paper had been leaked.
The SIC initially arrested 10 persons, including then APPSC deputy secretary-cum-controller of examination Taket Jerang.
Jerang’s arrest opened a can of worms, and day by day it became a massive scam with his revelations. Later, several government officials and private individuals, including serving engineers, agriculture development officers, sub-inspector trainees, and even circle officers were arrested for their involvement in the scam.
In December 2022, the CBI had filed a chargesheet against 10 persons at the district & sessions court in Yupia. In October 2022, the then APPSC chairman, Nipo Nabam, resigned on moral grounds, and later all other members also resigned.
The commission had been reconstituted in February this year with a new chairman and two members, but it had to be scrapped after the PAJSC protested against the appointment of Lt Gen Shantanu Dayal as the chairman. The commission has not been reconstituted since then.
Meanwhile, reacting to the bail granted to Jerang, PAJSC vice chairman Tadak Nalo said that, “till the details of the bail are made public, we do not intend to make any premature statement.”
“However, taking into account the seriousness of the ongoing scam, the role of the kingpin Taket Jerang in the entire episode of the racket is equivalent to cold-blooded genocide, killing thousands and thousands of dreams, hopes and aspirations for decades, and the matter simply cannot be overlooked,” Nalo said.
“The kingpin getting bail in such a serious crime is testimony to the alarming ongoing investigation process. Ideally, apart from Jerang, many more people from the system should have been nabbed and arrested; however, instead of new arrests, the already arrested accused are getting bail after bail. This is a really alarming signal,” he said, and added that “the investigation agencies are answerable for their ineffective and inefficient investigation process.”
“Jerang, being the prime accused, was already awarded retirement package on his arrest, and is believed to have taken many names and many more are yet to be revealed. He is a prominent part of the existing corrupt ecosystem; hence, his release from the jail is alarming for potentially tampering unearthed evidences, and his life could also be at certain risk, as there is a complete set of hierarchy at the backdrop, as it is clear that he couldn’t have pulled off such a massive scam for so long without the participation of others in the system, especially the higher-ups.
“Therefore, this new development of awarding bail to prime accused Taket Jerang is a huge blow to the whole of the state. The inefficiency of the investigation agency and the state government is slowly coming to the forefront now. Team PAJSC is disappointed with this new development and will make our official statement in the coming days. We now demand immediate termination of Taket Jerang after revoking his forced retirement through proper departmental procedures.
“After this shocker, his reinstatement to his former position due to procedural lapse will not be acceptable to the whole of the state,” said Nalo.
