Education scam: HC moved for CBI probe

SHILLONG: With the alleged  dilly dally on the part of police and the authorities concerned to take action against those involved in the education scam, a petition was filed in the High Court of Meghalaya on Friday seeking its intervention to order a CBI inquiry to examine criminal angle of the scam.
The case will come up for hearing early next week.
As per the petition filed by Agnes Kharshiing who has been pursuing the case, the many FIRs filed with the East Khasi Hills police for criminal investigation against those involved in the scam went in vain as no action was taken.
The petitioner sought the intervention of the High Court for a CBI inquiry since many aggrieved candidates are still awaiting justice.
After FIRs were filed for carrying out criminal investigation, earlier the police had insisted for getting original papers seized by the CBI from the lower court to carry forward the investigation.
Later, after the lower court had asked the police to get the seized CBI papers from the High Court, the matter was not followed up by the police even after two years.
The lower court wanted the police to get the original papers from the High Court as it was the Court which ordered the CBI probe into the scam.
The only action from the police after registering the case was to interrogate then Director of Mass and Elementary Education (DEME) J.D. Sangma in April 2013. It was after following the direction from the erstwhile Shillong Bench of the Gauhati High Court that the CBI  probed the anomalies into the education scam into the appointment of assistant teachers  for the year in 2009-10.As per the findings, the score sheets of the deserving candidates who aspired to become teachers were tampered resulting in non- deserving candidates getting jobs.
Following the probe, the CBI submitted the report to the High Court on March 5, 2012.
The 107-page CBI report said, “It was felt necessary to examine J.D. Sangma, the then Director DEME. In course of his examination by the CBI, Sangma has stated that under the instruction of the then Minister of Education – Ampareen Lyngdoh – he had to change the score sheets as prepared by all the five boards duly applying white fluid on the original marks, as awarded by the members of the Board. JD Sangma also handed over a file containing the list received by the Minister from different persons/ MLAs/ Ministers recommending the names of their own candidates for selection as teacher in LP schools in Meghalaya”. The petition filed before the High Court also highlights that despite the CBI initiating inquiry against those involved in the scam, no charge sheet was field by the CBI.