SHILLONG: The Central Bureau of Investigation has sought prosecution sanction against former Education Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh, Education official JD Sangma besides a retired deputy director, who were allegedly involved in the education scam.
Sources said that the CBI had written to the state government recently seeking approval for prosecution against the accused persons. According to the sources, the CBI is awaiting sanction from the government.
Sources said that once the sanction order is issued by Meghalaya government, the CBI Shillong will file charge-sheet against the accused.
The High Court of Meghalaya had on November 2, 2016 ordered the CBI to take over the criminal aspect of the probe from Meghalaya police into the alleged manipulation of score sheets and interference in the selection of assistant teachers in lower primary schools in 2008-09.
Based on the orders of the court, the CBI had registered an FIR under IPC sections related to criminal conspiracy, forgery and criminal breach of trust against Ampareen and others.
As part of the probe, the CBI had last year searched five locations in Shillong, including the residence of Ampareen, the house of Sangma in Tura who was the director of elementary and mass education and the residence of another deputy director in connection with the case.
The allegation against Ampareen was that she had instructed Sangma and two of her supporters to tamper with and forge the score sheets by applying white fluid.
Sangma, who had joined NPP, is currently the chairman of Tura Municipal Board.
After the first CBI report was made public in November 2012, Ampareen, during a news conference, had said that the statement of Education official JD Sangma that under the instruction of the then education minister (Ampareen) he had to change the score sheets of the candidates, was uncorroborated.
In the 107-page report, the CBI had said, “In the course of his examination, JD Sangma had stated that under the instruction of the then education minister Ampareen Lyngdoh, he had to change the score sheet as prepared by all the five boards duly applying white fluid on the original marks as awarded by the members of the board.”
However, in her response, Ampareen had said, “If an uncorroborated statement of an official is the basis for all the allegations levelled against me, then no politician would ever be able to function in our democratic polity. No minister would like to be at the mercy of an official who gives statements according to his whims and fancies.” At that time, she had also ruled out her resignation by saying that the “demand by vested interests remains questionable.”
