SHILLONG: The High Court has asked the Superintendent of Police, East Khasi Hills M Kharkrang to instruct the Investigating Officer probing the criminal case related to education scam to submit the progress report within two weeks.
The Court issued this order while hearing a petition which demanded a fresh CBI probe into the matter.
The Judge S R Sen after hearing the petition regarding the delay on the part of police to act on the pending FIRs on the criminal cases field against those involved in education scam listed the matter after two weeks for report from the Investigating Officer. The concerned parties can also file affidavit before the pronouncement of the final order.
Earlier during the hearing, N.Syngkon, counsel for the petitioner Agnes Kharshiing made a submission before the Court that an FIR was filed with the Laitumkhrah Police Station on February 12, 201,0 but no action had been taken so far by the State Police.
As a result, subsequently several FIRs were filed and the last FIR was filed on November 7, 2012 which was registered as directed by the Chief Judicial Magistrate as Laitumkhrah police station case No. 62(7) 2011 under Section 408 IPC, but the Counsel for the petitioner said that unfortunately till date there is no progress of the investigation, hence the writ petition was filed before the Court.
The Court also heard V.K.Jindal, senior counsel for CBI and Additional senior government advocate S.Sen Gupta for the State respondents.
Gupta, who submitted that he could not file any counter affidavit till date as he had no instruction, was directed by the Court to file the counter affidavit, if any.
Earlier, 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.
