Guwahati, 31 May: Chief Ministers’ Special Vigilance Cell arrested four people on May 30 in connection with the Rs 105 crore State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) fraud. During the questioning of the main suspect Sewali Devi Sharma, the names of two journalists and two Right To Information Act (RTI) personnel came to light.
The people who were arrested by the CM Vigilance Cell have been identified as RTI officials Anup Saikia and Rabijit Gogoi, as well as journalists Bhaskarjyoti Hazarika and Pujamoni Das.
Superintendent of Police (SP) of CM Vigilance Cell addressed the situation and said there is a strong likelihood that other people will be linked to the case. According to the investigation, money from the SCERT account was transferred to the personal accounts of the people who were arrested. The investigation is still underway in order to determine the full scope of the fraud and more people are likely to get implicated.
It is interesting that the CM Vigilance Cell summoned numerous journalists and RTI employees earlier today for their alleged role in blackmailing Sewali Devi Sharma, the main accused in the SCERT scam based on claims made by her.
According to reports, when journalist Pujamoni Das was questioned as part of the probe, significant amounts of money were found that she transferred money in her mother’s bank account.
Additionally, CM Vigilance Cell questioned Rabijit Gogoi, an employee of RTI as well as Maina Saikia also known as Anup Saikia. Gogoi had earlier been called to the vigilance cell office where it was discovered that his mobile phone contained proof of his suspected extortion of Sewali Devi Sharma. During the inquiry, the cell took two mobile phones and an identity card from a news organisation.
Earlier, Sewali Devi Sharma asserted during questioning that several RTI employees and journalists had blackmailed her. She said that these people, whose identities she gave had extorted more than 2 crores of rupees from her.
Sewali Devi Sharma was remanded to judicial custody in connection with the SCERT scandal on May 20 along with nine other people.