GUWAHATI: The long arm of the law is catching up with the mighty and corrupt in the Northeast.
On Wednesday, a special court of National Investigation Agency (NIA) awarded life imprisonment to three Assam politicians—two of them from BJP—and 12 others in the Rs 1,000 crore scam in the erstwhile N C Hills district. They were convicted for siphoning government funds meant for welfare of school children, physically-handicapped, etc.
BJP’s Jewel Garlosa and Niranjan Hojai were the top leaders of now-disbanded insurgent group Dima Halam Daogah (Jewel) or DHD-J. The NIA found that all the 15, which also includes contractors, were involved in diverting development funds to DHD-J’s coffers for buying arms and ammunition.
The third politician to get a lifer was then N C Hills District Autonomous Council chief Mohit Hojai. R H Khan, an officer of social welfare department, was among the 12 other convicts. In 2010, the CBI seized Rs 13.45 crore from his brother-in-law.
In April, the NIA arrested Nagaland officials Tulula Pongen, Alienba Pangjung Jamir and K Lashitofor providing a “substantial amount” to a banned insurgent group. They were also accused of illegal tax collection for militants.
Police are cracking down on corruption in Assam and Manipur, both BJP-rules states. In the past one year, over a dozen senior government officials, including the chairman of statutory Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) Rakesh Kumar Paul, have been arrested on corruption charges.
The rot in the APSC came to the fore following the arrest of engineer Nabakanta Patir, who was caught accepting a bribe of Rs 10 lakh from a lady dentist. He had promised her a job through NPSC, but she tipped off the police. Several others, including two members and an assistant controller of examination of APSC, were also arrested.
Weeding out corruption was one of Sonowal’s poll promises. “Nobody, including ministers and MLAs, will be spared if found involved in corruption,” he said recently.
Manipur’s two-month-old N Biren Singh government has set up an anti-corruption cell under the CM. Investigations are also on in five scams—two each in Manipur and Assam and one in Meghalaya.
Assam’s anti-corruption and vigilance cell is probing a bribery scam in the irrigation department, and another in the directorate of information and public relations. The Manipur government has ordered probes into CCTV camera and traffic light scams, which occurred during the previous Congress regime.
In Meghalaya, the High Court is examining documents pertaining to a scam in the education department, in which over 200 people secured teaching jobs through recommendations of politicians. Then education minister Ampareen Lyngdoh is believed to be involved in the graft.