Mizo court sentences Chakma leader to 4 years’ in jail for corruption
First Published: 26th September, 2023 16:55 IST
Kali Kumar Tongchangya will also have to pay a fine of Rs lakh. He has been accused of diverting Rs 1.79 cr meant for construction of roads
Former Chief Executive Member (CEM) of the Chakma Autonomous District Council (CADC) Kali Kumar Tongchangya was sentenced to 4 years in prison and slapped a fine of Rs 2 lakh in a corruption case by a special court on Tuesday.
On Monday, Tongchangya was convicted by the court for swindling Rs 1.79 crore meant for road construction under Non-Lapsable Central Pool of Resources (NLCPR) and using the money for the Congress party’s election campaign in 2013 CADC elections.
Special Judge HTC Lalrinchhana said that Tongchangya was sentenced under section 409 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) to undergo 4 years’ imprisonment with a fine of Rs. 2 lakhs, in default, another imprisonment of 1 year.
“Having no previous criminal records, and no evidence showing that he had pocketed the swindled money, both the sentences except the fine shall run concurrently,” the judge said.
The convict was remanded to judicial custody and sent to the Central Jail at Tanhril locality after the pronouncement of the sentence.
The total amount misappropriated by Kali Kumar Tongchangya was Rs1,79,03,773 which included Rs 1.90 crore he took from Digamber Chakma, executive secretary and DDO of CADC.
The prosecution said that Tongchangya, when he was CEM of the CADC took Rs 1.70 crore from the fund meant for construction of road between Longpuighat and Kukurduleya village in south Mizoram’s Lawngtlai district under NLCPR.
The centre sanctioned a total amount of over Rs 11.29 crore for construction of the road during 2003-2013 and disbursed the amount in three installments. The construction of the road could not be completed due to misappropriation of the fund meant for it by the then CEM.
Besides Rs 1.70 crore taken by Tongchangya, who was also President of the Chakma District Congress Committee, Rs. 9.03 lakh was also disbursed from the CADC exchequer in accordance with his verbal instructions to meet various expenses by the Congress party in the run-up of 2013 CADC polls.
The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) officials who recovered Rs 1.26 crore from 16 candidates could not recover Rs. 53,03,773 due to different reasons.
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