Shillong, Nov 29: Refusing to buy the denial of charges by the Chief minister, Leader of the Opposition Congress, Mukul Sangma today termed the reply of the National People’s Party (NPP) on the IRS scam as a “diversionary tactic” maintained that the issue should not be considered as a personal attack as coincidentally it happened in their premises.
“We are talking about important instance of a case which was registered in 2017. Let us not mix it up. The issue is to ensure that the whole process of the investigation is done properly and there is no attempt to derail the whole process of investigation,” he added.
“I don’t think the IFA employees are his relatives why are they scared? IFA is a fictitious company not registered under companies Act, therefore they are criminals and he should not be concerned and the chief minister must rather be happy that yes we must go after them and put them where they belong to as per the process of law,” he added, while claiming that if there was interference anywhere during his time or anytime they have tried to correct it. “During our time if anywhere there was any omission or commission or any interference in posting or transfer we have intervened to ensure that the process of law under no circumstances is influence or derailed,” he said.
“Our job is to tell the government please do not do this now. If that letter has come to my knowledge and this whole development has come to my knowledge does the Chief Minister expect me to keep quiet?” Mukul questioned.
Pointing out that the issue is that the process of investigation led to the arrest of two employees of SS Netcom and this is based on process of investigation and that process of investigation has not been completed and that there is an input that has come by virtue of the letter written by the then SP indicating concern which is self explanatory, the Leader of the Opposition said, “It is not my interpretation. Unfortunately SS Netcom belongs to the chief minister and his brother. What I am saying is irrespective of who may be the owner of the premises or the organizations. Let the law take its own course. Why are they afraid or why are they concerned?”
Stating that the state government will only have to fulfil their responsibility as they are at the helm of governance, he said that the state government must ensure that they don’t do anything that amounts to infringing the whole course of case and investigation.
He further said that after the letter was written by the SP to the DIG expressing concern even the SP was transferred. “It is not just the investigating officer alone but the SP was also transferred. Is it normal? Why was he transferred after the letter?” he questioned.
In justification he said that according to the Meghalaya Police Act 2010 no officer can be transferred at the whims and fancies of the ministers or the DGP alone cannot do the transfer. The Leader of the Opposition said that there is a due process governed by the Act and it is an offshoot of administrative reform which is in observation of the Supreme Court that police must be insulated from all other likely external forces in order to ensure that the administrative of justice is in no way influenced by anybody.
The former chief minister said that it was a big concern as this whole issue of fake call centres targeting citizens of other country involves training the youths for criminal activities. “They are the youth of the North East. Who are training them? Where are they being trained? Has any process of investigation gone that far? So many questions and how did they say that the investigation is over?” Mukul said.
“Who are the victims, where was the money deposited? Tracking has to be done and everything has to be unearthed. Where is the investigation,” he questioned.
Pointing out that two of the arrested person happened to be the employees of SS Netcom, he said that it is not just the people who were arrested are the employees of the IFA who they claim to have been the agency who take the premises on rent basis.
Stating that “it is our job to ensure that Meghalaya does not become a hub of this criminal activity”, he said, “Lot of banking transaction in relation to this case does not confine only in SS Netcom and Meghalaya. It goes beyond; therefore investigation has to go beyond”.
To a query that his statement is being witnessed as a personal attack, the Leader of the Opposition said,“Why it should be personal attack? Is it something new? That instance of arrest which is in course of an investigation is a natural process. Have I told the police to go to SS Netcom premises? It is the natural consequence because the crime was committed in the premises”.
He said, “It may be very uncomfortable for the chief minister that it happened in their premises or the premises owned by them; it does not matter if they are completely clean as they will be insulated; they just have to trust the process of law.”
While replying to a query that the NPP has questioned his role in tampering with evidence and derailing the process of investigating during his tenure as the chief minister in the Marvelene’s Inn rape case, he replied, “That is a diversionary tactic. You have seen in the Assembly how they have diverted everything; now this diversionary tactic is not going to dilute the issue.”