They were selected in the examination conducted by the APSC when Rakesh Paul was its chairman.

Nineteen Assam government officers, including the daughter of BJP MP R.P. Sharma, were arrested on July 18 in Guwahati as their handwriting did not match with that in their answer sheets in the Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) examination held in 2016, police said.

The Dibrugarh Police, which is probing the cash-for-jobs scam in the APSC, had summoned the officers of the Assam Civil Service (ACS), Assam Police Service (APS) and allied services to appear for handwriting tests after forensic examinations of their answer sheets indicated anomalies.

Superintendent of Police, Dibrugarh, Gautam Bora, said their handwriting did not match with their answer sheets, which were found to be fake during forensic tests.

Arrest of APSC chairman, 3 others in 2016

The officers were selected when Rakesh Paul was the APSC chairman. In 2016, the police arrested Mr. Paul, APSC members Samedur Rahman and Basanta Kumar Doley and assistant controller of examinations Pabitra Kaibarta, for their alleged involvement in the scam.

Those arrested on Wednesday were 13 ACS officers, three APS officers and three allied service officials, Mr. Bora said.

The arrested ACS officers are: Utpal Bhuyan, Barnali Das, Susovan Das, Dhruvojyoti Chakraboty, Manzoor Ilahi Laskar, Moon Mazoomdar, Mustafa Ahmed Borbhuyan, Md Saibur Rahman Borbhuyan, Monika Teronpi, Ganesh Chandra Das, Srabanti Sen Gupta, Deepsikha Phukan and Leena Krishna Kakati, the SP said.

The arrested APS officers are: Gulshan Daolagpu, Bhargav Phukan and Pallavi Sharma — daughter of the BJP MP from Tezpur, said Additional SP and investigating officer Surjeet Singh Paneswar.

The arrested allied service officers are: District Transport Officer Suranjita Hazarika, Superintendent of Taxes Rituraj Neog and Inspector of Taxes Nipon Kumar Pathak, he said.

Dismissal of 13 officers

On June 21, the State government dismissed 13 arrested State civil services officers from service for their alleged involvement in the scam. They were undergoing probation when they were arrested in November 2017 and are currently lodged in the Guwahati Central Jail.

They have been accused of bribing Mr. Paul and using unfair means in the examinations to qualify for the State civil services.

Among the dismissed officers is former Congress Minister Nilamani Sen Deka’s son Rajarshi Sen Deka.