Retired police officer PK Dutta, who was on the run, was arrested from the Indo-Nepal Border on Monday.
Retired senior officer of the Assam Police PK Dutta - one of the men accused of playing a key role in leaking the exam paper for recruitment of sub-inspectors in Assam Police - was detained from the Indo-Nepal Border on Monday, after being on the run for about two weeks.
According to the police, Dutta was caught on the basis of a lookout notice at Nepal's Kakarbhitta town bordering West Bengal in India. He has been repatriated and is currently in Jalpaiguri's Panitanki village, 1.5 km from Kakarbhitta and almost 85 km from Darjeeling.
"He will be brought to Assam on transit remand by Tuesday night and will be taken in custody," a police official said.
According to sources, Dutta was caught while returning to Assam from Nepal, where he had fled with his son after the scam came to light.
The police used Dutta's digital footprints to track his location.
On September 20, question papers for Assam Police Recruitment Exam were leaked on the social media minutes after the test started. The exams for 597 posts, for which more than 60,000 candidates had applied, had to be cancelled and a massive investigation was initiated as instructed by Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal.
Raids at various locations, including Dutta's hotels Bhargav Grand and Bhargav on September 23 and 24, showed he had conducted mock tests using the original exam paper. Dutta and former BJP leader Diban Deka - suspended after his involvement in the scam surfaced - were named key accused in the scam. A lookout notice was issued to arrest the retired police officer and a cash reward of Rs 1 lakh was also announced.
Diban Deka was arrested last week.
So far, more than 24 people have been arrested from across Assam in this connection.