Guwahati, Jan. 15: Assam police will match voice samples of scam-accused former APSC chairman Rakesh Kumar Paul and assistant engineer Nabakanta Patir with the audio recording of an alleged telephonic conversation on Paul's "secret" cell phone.

According to the police, Paul had engaged a number of persons to collect bribes from candidates seeking government jobs and Patir, an assistant engineer in the town and country planning department in Dibrugarh, was one of them. Patir was arrested from Dibrugarh on October 27 for allegedly collecting Rs 10 lakh from a candidate on behalf of Paul.

An official source said Paul had a "secret" cell phone, which he used only to contact his agents, which was corroborated by its call details.

He said the police collected an audio recording of an alleged telephonic conversation between Paul and Patir, which revealed they had fixed the bribe at Rs 40 lakh for a post of block development officer last year.

"Statements of witnesses recorded under Section 164 CrPC revealed that Patir had collected a huge sum from aspirants for the BDO's post," he said.

"Voice samples of Paul and Patir have been sent for forensic examination to confirm that the two voices in the telephonic conversation were theirs and the report is awaited," the source said.

Gauhati High Court had rejected the bail petitions of Paul and Patir on Thursday.

Others allegedly hired by Paul to collect money from candidates are his brother Rajiv, Sudip Das, Dhiren Das, Mofidul Islam and Mrigen Saikia, who are currently absconding.

He said Paul had misused his position as the APSC chairman to illegally outsource printing of answer scripts to a private press. "According to APSC rules, answer scripts of examinations conducted by it are to be printed at a government press only, which was violated by Paul," the source said.

During a search conducted at Paul's residence, the police had recovered answer scripts of APSC examinations containing enhanced marks bearing the signature of the invigilator, tabulation sheets, Rs 10 lakh, master paper of answer scripts and a draft copy of APSC answer booklets.

Question papers and answer scripts were also seized from the printing press of Paul's brother Rajiv on Mazar Road near Bora Service here.

The source said the police investigation into the recruitment scam is nearing completion and the chargesheet is likely to be filed in the court of special judge, Assam, within a week or two.