SHILLONG: The UDP has petitioned Chief Minister Conrad Sangma to ensure that the state government takes a firm stand to settle the education scam issue as former chief minister Mukul Sangma did not take action against the then education minister Ampareen Lyngdoh.
In a letter addressed to the chief minister, the UDP leaders from Laitumkhrah-Malki said the CBI had “its own leisure time” to conduct inquiry into the education scam and submitted the report in October 2012 but “nowhere does it reflect that the CBI had ever examined the mastermind of the entire scam, Ampareen Lyngdoh, the then education minister, but extensively quizzed the then director of education, JD Sangma, who in his statement, clearly mentioned, that the work of tampering of score sheets was partially made at the residence of the minister and at his official residence as per the inquiry report”.
The UDP Laitumkhrah-Malki president B Kharumnuid and joint secretary of the women’s wing B Mawrie also enclosed relevant pages of the probe report in the letter addressed to the chief minister.
The UDP also revealed a contradiction in the CBI report clause (V) in Page 107, which states that ” prima-facie it appears that the tampering was done at the office of the Director Elementary and Mass Education Department to favour some candidates recommended by politicians, clearly misinterpreting even the statement made by JD Sangma, as recorded by the CBI”.
The UDP also revealed that no mention can be found about the two mysterious confidants of the then minister, ) who abetted in applying white fluid on the score sheets as mentioned in the CBI report.
“We fail to understand why CBI did not seek the services of the state police to trace the whereabouts and identity of the two abettors and obtain their statement to unravel the truth. The CBI had deliberately omitted this part, which is the core witness issue of the main scam,” the UDP alleged.
The party pointed out that the apparent nexus of the CBI in handling the scam cannot be ruled out when the alleged perpetrators of the entire drama have been left out but an attempt was made to shift the blame on the political colleagues who do normally request any official in authority to help their needy people. However, it depends on such authority to decide on the merit of each case whether to favour or reject the recommendation or request.
The UDP also said there was public disgust against the order of the Shillong Bench of the Gauhati High Court on August 16, 2012, directing the Principal Secretary of Education Department to constitute a High Level Scrutiny Committee to scrutinise and review the records within six months.
The UDP wanted to know what will the aggrieved youth expect from the Committee headed by the officer of the same tainted department against the minister of his own department, who continued in office.
“The entire mess was caused by the then education minister herself, whose breach of conduct affecting the right and fate of many unemployed youth was not seriously taken note of by the then chief minister Mukul Sangma but who gave her the leverage and protection, instead of dropping her from the Cabinet for a clean and impartial investigation,” the UDP said.
While welcoming the recent High Court order to complete the inquiry within six months, the UDP pointed out that justice delayed is justice denied, with the future and life of many candidates and job seekers in ruin.
“The present state government should take a firm stand to see that this scam is settled at the earliest, with justice to the non-tainted class of victimised teachers and due punishment to all those who engineered the mischief, “including the official of the CBI R Biswas, CBI SP Shillong HOB, ACB for his dubious role, affecting the reputation and credibility of the benign organisation people hold in high esteem”, the UDP said.
