TURA: Former ANVC (B) Chairman, Bernard N Marak against whom an FIR has been filed by the All Garo Hills Archery Association (AGHAA) has said that the allegations against him in the FIR are ‘false, baseless and uncalled for’.
“They are running illegal teer counters with support of a certain MLA and looting the public of their hard earned money and they file robbery plaint against me? It is they who are robbing the public, the teer owners and the govt. They are taxing the book owners Rs 70 and some 450 per week. They are claiming license fee for failed licenses. None of these counters pay tax to the Government or maintains authorized books since 1st July 2017,” Bernard said while reacting to the FIR.
Marak alleged that the FIR was intended to obstruct the exposure of illegal teer racket by the association with involvement of a certain MLA and officers who are acting as Godfathers of illegal teer business.
“I came to know through RTI replied by the taxation department that teer counters are running without their supervision since July 1 2017. None of the counters have licenses and the book makers’ books are mere notebooks which are not issued by the authority. Teer counters are paying taxes to these associations but not to the government,” Marak claimed.
Referring to the latest notification by the government, Marak pointed out that counters cannot run within 1000 feet from place of worship and educational institution which was pointed out to the district authorities and taxation department. However, he claimed that no action was taken.
“Even the FIR submitted remains unregistered. This is a big racket and big shots are involved in running these counters. I simply asked counters within 1000 feet from worship places and educational institution to close down because administration was not taking any action and was allowing these counters to run. These counters were running without licenses and valid documents. Even the books they used were not legal,” Marak alleged.
Marak alleged that the association allowed anybody to open a counter if they agreed to pay their taxes, which was why hundreds of counters sprang up in Tura and in entire Garo Hills. He claimed that a certain MLA was involved in running the racket and that a thorough investigation will reveal the involvement of high ranking officers too.
Refuting the robbery allegation made against him Marak urged that the police be given a free hand to investigate. He said that if counted from July 1, 2017, every counter would be liable to clear tax and obtain valid licenses.
“The public have been fooled. The District Administration should pass a prohibitory order against illegal counters from running in the district as it amounts to exploitation of the scheduled tribes. Archery Association cannot run Teer Association and non tribals cannot be members of Teer body because they don’t own book makers’ licenses. It’s a benami case,” Marak re-iterated.