19 more officers arrested in Assam's cash-for-job scam
Guwahati, July 18: Assam Police on Wednesday arrested 19 government officers for their alleged involvement in the multi-crore cash-for-jobs scam, taking the number of total arrests in the case to 55.
The 19 officials include 13 of the Assam Civil Service (ACS) cadre, three of the Assam Police Service (APS) and three from the allied services cadre.
APS officer Pallavi Sharma, the daughter of Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Lok Sabha MP from Tezpur constituency, R.P. Sharma, is among those arrested.
The Dibrugarh police, who have been probing the cash-for-job scam, had summoned these 19 officials to the Special Branch headquarters of the Assam Police at Kahilipara to collect their handwriting specimen.
It was said that their handwriting specimen would be sent for forensic verification.
All the 19 officers entered the Special Branch headquarters around 10 a.m where they were arrested later.
"We have already collected their handwriting from their offices concerned. We have also carried out forensic tests on their handwriting and matched with those recovered from the fake answer sheets recovered from the Assam Public Service Commission (APSC)," said Dibrugarh Superintendent of Police Goutam Bora.
Bora said the police have enough forensic evidence to prove their involvement in the scam. "Each of these officials had submitted three to five fake answer sheets for the examinations."
The police had summoned all of them on the pretext of collecting their handwriting specimen as it was feared that the officials might abscond later.
The Assam Police had earlier arrested 36 persons for their involvement in the cash-for-job scam.
These officers had reportedly bribed huge amounts of money to the some members of the Commission, which holds examinations for these plum posts of state service cadres.
The police have also arrested APSC Chairman Rakesh Paul, members Basanta Doley and Samedur Rahman, APSC Examination Controller Pabitra Kaibarta and other officials of the Commission for accepting bribes to manipulate the results of examinations.
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US rules out use of nuclear weapons against Iran
Washington DC: The White House has reportedly ruled out the use of nuclear weapons against Iran, even as uncertainty continues over ongoing peace negotiations and a deadline set by US President Donald Trump approaches.
Issues bout a possible escalation had increased after US Vice President JD Vance said that the United States has “tools in our toolkit that we so far haven’t decided to use” in dealing with Iran.
His remarks came amid rising tensions and ahead of a deadline linked to peace efforts.
The situation has attracted attention as Trump warned Iran that its “whole civilization will die tonight tonight” if an agreement is not reached by Tuesday at 8 pm.
This statement led to speculation about the possibility of extreme military measures, including a nuclear strike.
Following Vance’s comments, the White House issued a clarification distancing itself from such interpretations. In a post on X, it said, "Literally nothing @VP said here 'implies' this, you absolute buffoons." In a later statement, it added that “only the president knows” what action will be taken regarding Iran.
Literally nothing @VP said here "implies" this, you absolute buffoons https://t.co/7JU3wXMaWX
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 7, 2026
