Two journalists arrested for ‘blackmailing, taking bribes’ in Assam SCERT scam case

Two journalists – Bhaskar Jyoti Hazarika of News18 and Puja Moni Das of Pratibimba Live – were arrested today by the Assam chief minister’s special vigilance cell. 

According to the Times of India, the two journalists and two RTI activists, Anup Saikia and Rabijit Gogoi, were held in connection with a Rs 105-crore scam in the State Council of Educational Research and Training. All four have been accused of “blackmailing” suspended IAS officer Sewali Devi Sharma and “taking bribes” from her.

The vigilance cell has claimed that Rs 75 lakh was transferred from the SCERT’s open distance learning cell’s bank account to Rabijit Gogoi’s personal account, while Rs 35 lakh was transferred to Anup Saikia, Rs 8.5 lakh to Pujamoni Das, and Rs 7 lakh to Bhaskar Jyoti Hazarika’s bank account.    

Sharma, along with her son-in-law, is accused of allegedly siphoning Rs 105 crore without showing any work orders during her tenure as the executive chairman and director of the SCERT in Assam between 2017 and 2020. Both Sharma and her son-in-law were arrested in Rajasthan on May 8 this year. So far, 14 arrests have been made in the case.

In 2021, Newslaundry had reported on another scam in Assam – this one purportedly involving the family of the chief minister. At the time, leading channels and newspapers had ignored it, and we wondered why. Read all about it here.