A CBI spokesman said the entire quantum of financial irregularity in one single year in the NC Hills Autonomous Council was Rs 52 crore. "The NIA, while investigating the NC Hills Autonomous Council case for siphoning of development funds to militants, found allegations of white collar crimes too and, subsequently, the state government handed us five cases in 2010 and another four in 2011. We have been given the mandate for an inquiry into the scam committed during 2008-09 only in these nine departments," the spokesman said.
The NC Hills scam was reported to be worth Rs 1,000 crore, spanning over a period of 10 years from 2001, and there were allegations of involvement of politicians of the state. The CBI chargesheet has named just two politicians, both former heads of the council, Depolal Hojai and Mohet Hojai. The spokesman said, "No other politicians were questioned as we had to go by the strength of the FIRs lodged by the police."
The CBI chargesheets submitted on Wednesday are on investigations into siphoning of funds worth Rs 1.74 crore in the PWD department of the council; Rs 1.98 crore in the public health engineering department and Rs 25.75 lakh in the agriculture department.
Nine persons, including Depolal Hojai and four engineers, have been named as accused in the scam in the PWD while five others, including Mohet Hojai, have been named in the scam in the PHE and another two in the agriculture department.
"We are investigating the remaining six cases and the chargesheets in these will be submitted soon," the spokesman said.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had earlier completed investigation in the militants-politician-bureaucrats nexus in diversion of public funds from the council and found fraudulent withdrawals of Rs 16 crore, which was siphoned off to Dima Halam Daogah (Jewel) from two departments between 2008 and 2009. The diverted funds, meant for development in the district, were used for buying arms and ammunition by the outfit.
The NIA investigation found that the funds siphoned were "channelized through hawala operators at Guwahati and Kolkata to reach armed smugglers, who smuggled in arms and ammunitions and supplied it to DHD(J) to commit Acts of terror and violence and to wage war against State with a view to overawe its legitimate authority."
The NIA in its charge-sheet in 2010 named 16 persons as accused , including Mohet Hojai, former deputy director of social welfare department in the council, Md Redaul Hussain Khan, DHD (J) chief Jewel Garlosa alias Mihir Barman alias Debojit Singha Mizo gun runners Vanlalchhana alias Vantea alias Joseph Mezo, Malsawmkimi and DHD (J) c-in-c Niranjan Hojai besides many contractors entered into criminal conspiracy during November 2008 at Haflong to divert the funds.
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