NEW DELHI: The ruling Congress in Meghalaya that is already smarting from the recent exodus of senior legislators received another setback on Thursday when the CBI registered a case against PWD minister Ampareen Lyngdoh and Additional Chief Secretary PS Thangkhiew over alleged manipulation of score sheets in the recruitment of teachers in 2008-09.
The central investigating agency has acted on the orders of the High Court of Meghalaya. It registered the FIR under IPC sections related to criminal conspiracy, forgery, criminal breach of trust against the duo, a CBI official said.
Lyngdoh was the education minister at the time of the alleged scam and Thangkhiew, a 1984 batch IAS officer, was the then principal secretary of education. He is now the additional chief secretary looking after the crucial Home Guard and Civil Defence.
The newly appointed MPCC president Celestine Lyngdoh, working president Vincent H Pala and one of the poll coordinators, who were in Delhi, left for Shillong on Thursday and are expected to hold a series of meetings after the development.
The agency has also named the Directorate of Elementary and Mass Education and unidentified persons as accused in the FIR. It also mentions some MLAs (colleague legislators) who were allegedly involved in the crime.
The High Court had last November, ordered the CBI to take over the investigation registered by the state police relating to alleged mass manipulation, tampering score sheets and interference in the selection of assistant teachers in lower primary schools in 2008-09. There were also allegations of fraud, wrongful loss and serious breach of public faith by the accused.
It is alleged that Lyngdoh had instructed JD Sangma, who was then director of elementary and mass education, and two of her supporters to tamper the score sheets by applying white fluid to increase or decrease marks. The complainant had alleged that the minister in collusion with other members of the Legislative Assembly carried out large-scale manipulation in the selection process for the appointment of assistant teachers.
The High Court, after cancelling the process of selection of teachers, had said the matter that required thorough and deep investigation by an independent agency. “…We are clearly of the view that the state police would not be the proper agency to be entrusted with the investigation, and for the requisite investigation and for bringing to book all the persons responsible in this scam, it is rather imperative that investigation in the FIR… to be carried out by the CBI,” it had said.
