Assam: Crackdown on corruption: Former Bajali SP Siddhartha Buragohain arrested

In one of the biggest crackdowns against corruption in Assam Police, former Bajali SP Siddhartha Buragohain was arrested this morning. Deputy SP Puskal Gogoi has also been arrested in connection with the Bajali corruption case. With this the total number of arrests have gone up to nine.

The arrest of the former Bajali SP and the DSP comes a day after Additional SP Gayatri Sonowal and her husband Bobby Singh Sharma were arrested.

DGP GP Singh shared details on social media on September 1 and stated that the complaint was found to be prima facie true, following which action has been initiated.

A criminal case was registered on August 31 by the CID, under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against the accused police officials.

The case pertains to a complaint filed by a businessman (dried betel nut trader) alleging that the police officials had falsely implicated him in a case and demanded money from him, reportedly to the tune of several crores.

If sources are to be believed, the accused cops allegedly demanded Rs 5 crore from the businessman last month and threatened to arrest and kill him in custody if he did not pay the money.

The businessman reportedly paid them a cheque of Rs 2 crore, and Rs 10 lakh in cash. Police have recovered several documents and proof against the accused officials.

In fact, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in his response to the case had reiterated about his government’s Zero Tolerance against corruption and assured stern action against whoever would be found guilty.