Jayanta Mallabaruah Hints At More Arrests In PHE Bribery Case

Assam public health engineering (PHE) minister Jayanta Mallabaruah on Tuesday hinted at more arrests in the wake of the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption trapping a senior-level engineer in a bribery case.

The anti-corruption agency in Assam made a major bust on Monday trapping the executive engineer (PHE) at the office of the Superintending Engineer (PHE), North Lakhimpur Circle, in Guwahati's Hengrabari. A subsequent raid by the probing body at his residence revealed a pile of cash amounting approximately to Rs 80 lakhs.

Cabinet minister Jayanta Mallabaruah addressed a presser today after the capture of the corrupt official in the department under his watch. He said that the state government has taken vigilant steps to curb cases of bribery and corruption.

Addressing media persons, Jayanta Mallabaruah said, "We have taken a tough stance against corruption. Yesterday's matter has come to our attention. We come across many allegations and soon two-four others will be caught."

Highlighting how digital prowess helped eliminating middlemen, the minister said, "Nowadays, one does not have to meet with the engineer to get something done. Everything is online now, yet some contractors fall into this trap themselves. I urge contractors to go online and both engineers and contractors to be vigil of such corruption."

Speaking on the matter at hand, the Assam minister said that a thorough investigation will be conducted. "His [accused Jayanta Goswami] income, expense, everything will now be tallied to find out how an engineer accumulated this sort of wealth. Legal measures will be taken against the one who has been caught."

The court of special judge in Guwahati on Tuesday remanded executive engineer Jayanta Goswami to four days of police custody after a raid at his residence uncovered Rs 80 lakhs in cash.

The tainted engineer, who was caught on Monday while accepting a bribe, was presented before the court today where the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption sought his custody for five days. However, the court only granted his custody to the investigating agency for four days.

Also Read: Senior Engineer Trapped Red-Handed Accepting Bribe In Guwahati