Rakesh Paul, the prime accused in the massive Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) cash-for-jobs scam that rocked the state, was released on Tuesday after serving a jail term of over six years.

This comes after a special judge’s court on March 24 agreed to grant him bail in connection with the case filed against him for his role in the massive scam in the APSC.

Speaking to reporters after his release, Rakesh Paul said, “I got the opportunity to do a lot of work in prison and have improved as a person.”

“The case against me is subjudice at the moment. The court has set certain conditions for my release, “added Rakesh Paul.

It may be noted that the main accused in the cash-for-jobs scam in the APSC has been released after spending six years and four months in prison. After his release, Rakesh Paul headed to his residence in Guwahati’s Panjabari locality.

Earlier in the day, the special court in Guwahati completed proceedings for the release of Rakesh Paul from jail. From there Rakesh Paul was taken to the Central Jail.

Moreover, Rakesh Paul has been handed certain conditions for his release which include taking permission from the court before heading outside Guwahati.

The conditions that he will have to follow are:

• Rakesh Paul will have to inform the special court beforehand if he wished to travel outside of Guwahati.

• He will also have to submit his passport to the court before heading out.

• Rakesh Paul will have to fully co-operate with all further investigations into the APSC scam and appear before probing authorities whenever summoned.

• He has been barred from indulging in intimidation of any kind against key witnesses in the APSC scam.

Last Friday, Rakesh Paul had been granted bail by the court in a case filed at the Bhangagarh Police Station in Guwahati regarding the Agriculture Development Officer (ADO) bribery case.

In December, Paul’s bail plea was rejected for the seventh time by the special judge’s court in the cash-for-jobs scam. Meanwhile, it came to the fore that Rakesh Paul had been granted bail in connection with three other cases against him.

During the hearing of his bail application, the court reportedly noted that it was not the correct time to grant his bail.

One of the two candidates for the post of ADO, Bedanta Bikash Das had admitted to having paid Rs 50,000 as bribe to the then APSC Chairman Rakesh Paul to gain recruitment. However, he did not get the post after which he filed a case at the Bhangagarh Police Station against the other candidate, Mrigen Haloi and asked for appropriate action against him.

In September 2022, Rakesh Paul’s bail plea was rejected for the sixth time by the special judge’s court in connection with the APSC recruitment scam.

Advocate Makhan Phukan had represented the government and presented facts to the court regarding the matter. The HC had directed to lower court to complete his trial within six months. Rakesh Paul, the former chairman of APSC was arrested in November 2016.