Assam: Officer held in disproportionate income granted bail after no chargesheet filed

Guwahati, Nov 11 (PTI) A court here on Tuesday granted bail to suspended Assam Civil Services (ACS) officer Nupur Borah, arrested for allegedly possessing assets disproportionate to her known sources of income, officials said.

The court asked her to furnish two sureties of Rs 1 lakh each, her advocate Bijon Mahajan said.

"Borah was arrested on September 15 in a disproportionate assets case. The case entails a maximum 60-day custody period, which has almost elapsed, but no charge sheet has been filed yet," Mahajan said.

The counsel also claimed violation of provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) relating to the arrest of a woman after dusk.

"Moreover, being a government employee, she poses no flight risk and will appear before the authorities whenever required. After hearing our arguments yesterday, the court of the honourable special judge granted her bail today," Mahajan added.

Bail conditions, including depositing the sureties and not leaving jurisdiction of the court without prior permission, have been set, the advocate said.

“After the sureties are submitted, Borah is likely to walk out tomorrow,” he added.

Borah was arrested by the CM’s Special Vigilance Cell after searches at her residences led to recovery of over Rs 92.50 lakh in cash and ornaments worth nearly Rs 1.5 crore on September 15.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had claimed that she had amassed assets 400 times more than her known sources of income, and said penal measures beyond suspension or dismissal from job was being pursued to ensure that the officer is held accountable as per law.

Borah had been under surveillance for the last six months when she had authorised an illegal land transfer deal while posted as circle officer in Barpeta, following which she was transferred.

At the time of her arrest, she was posted as the circle officer at Goraimari in Kamrup district. PTI SSG SSG MNB