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Conrad, Mukul trade charges over probe into cases

By Staff Correspondent - 15 Sep 2010 12:00 AM GMT

SHILLONG, Nov 28 - Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma today accused the Opposition Congress of having interfered with the investigation of a prostitution racket in 2016-17 involving a former Home Minister by transferring the investigating officers within a month.

Sangma�s outburst came a day after the Meghalaya Leader of Opposition, Mukul Sangma, alleged that the NPP-led Government in the State tried to scuttle the investigation into the activities of a firm, SS Netcom, owned by the Chief Minister and his family.

The SS Netcom case was registered in 2017. The firm had reportedly leased out its premises to a company, IFA, which allegedly ran an international call centre racket, duping US citizens. Several persons were arrested and incriminating documents and materials were seized in connection with the case.

Mukul Sangma alleged that officers investigating the scam were transferred after the NPP came to power in 2018.

However, the Meghalaya Chief Minister issued a strong rebuttal and, in turn, referred to a case from 2016 when the Congress was in power. The case in question was registered against an alleged prostitution racket in a guest house owned by then Home Minister HDR Lyngdoh and his family.

Sangma said the officers investigating the case were �transferred within a month�. He added that Mukul Sangma who was the then Chief Minister, also refused to drop Lyngdoh from his Cabinet.

Ruling out any wrongdoings in the SS Netcom case, the Chief Minister said that the officers investigating the case were allowed a full year for the probe after the NPP Government came to power and then transferred in a routine procedure.

�If we had tried to interfere into the case, the transfers would have been made immediately after we came to power. But the investigation went on for a year without any interruption,� Sangma maintained.

It seems the Congress is running out of issues and now it is resorting to personal attacks, the Chief Minister said.

On allegations that the State Security Commission meeting has not been held to discuss such issues of transfers due to political pressure, Sangma said the COVID-19 pandemic was responsible for the delay in holding such meetings.