SHILLONG: Former legislator Francis Pondit R Sangma, who has been accused of swindling close to Rs 6 crore, broke his silence on Thursday and rubbished all allegations levelled against him.
Sangma has been accused of inking an agreement worth over Rs 6 crore for coal extraction with a firm without giving the dues to the Rongding clan members in West Khasi Hills.
In a statement issued here on Thursday, Sangma said those who have filed the FIR do not belong to the Rongding clan. Sangma said one Anni Rongmuthu Sangma, who is the mastermind behind the FIR, does not belong to the clan.
The clan members who filed the FIR at Mendipathar police station said the land at Reangdim A’king in West Khasi Hills, which was allotted to them, was leased out to Divyansh Power Gen Pvt. Ltd in April 2012 for 30 years and as per their understanding, each member of the clan was to get Rs 3.7 lakh. But Sangma gave only Rs 20,000 each to some members keeping with him around Rs 5.8 crore. As many as 166 Rongding clan members further alleged that Sangma had taken an advance of Rs 6.1 crore from the firm for the land, but the money was not disbursed to the actual land owners.
Denying the allegations, Sangma said on Thursday that in 2012, the Rongding clan gave him the power of attorney to execute an agreement with Divyansh Power. “As per the agreement, the company was allowed to extract coal from Kulang Abri at Reangdim village. But after the agreement was executed, the company started disturbing the genuine clan members for one reason or the other,” Sangma said.
The former MLA also said all evidence will be placed in the right forum and in the Mahari meeting if necessary.
The firm had earlier signed an MoU with the State Government to start a 240 MW thermal power plant in 2010.
When contacted, North Garo Hills police said the FIR filed in Mendipathar police station has been transferred to Shallang police station since the matter belongs to that area.
