SHILLONG, Aug 26 � Following the arrest of Gegong Apang, the focus has now shifted on Food Corporation of India (FCI) officials, including a Meghalaya government official, for their alleged role in the multi-crore rupee Public Distribution System (PDS) scam in Arunachal Pradesh.
The former Arunachal Chief Minister was arrested by the Special Investigation Cell (SIC) officials for his alleged role in the Rs 1000-crore PDS scam and is now under police custody.
So far over 50 people, including Apang, have been charge-sheeted by the SIC in the multi-crore rupee scam and over 30 people have been arrested. The remaining ones have availed anticipatory bails.
SIC officials are now investigating the role of 30 FCI officials in the scam, including Arindam Som who was the zonal FCI manager, Guwahati during 2003-04. He is now Commissioner and Secretary, in-charge Mining and Geology, Power, Commerce and Industries in the Meghalaya Government.
Som was earlier asked to submit a written reply on alleged financial irregularities during his tenure as FCI zonal manager. He is alleged to have made excess payment to Arunachal Pradesh government to the tune of Rs 170 crore. When contacted today, Som didn�t return calls after several attempts.
However, SIC is in the process to have the perquisite prosecution sanction against the government officials and charge-sheet them under Section 19 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 for their alleged role in the scam.
Under the Act, prosecution agencies have to seek a prosecution sanction from a �competent authority� to initiate criminal proceedings against public servants.
�The FCI officials� role in the scam is in doubt. We are seeking prosecution sanction,� SIC investigator MS Chauhan told The Assam Tribune, without divulging the names of the FCI officials concerned.
He said the FCI is authorized to clear bills amounting to not more than Rs 50 lakh per day for the entire region. �But these FCI officials were clearing bills to the tune of Rs 10 crore or more every day without financial authority and in great haste,� Chauhan said.
In just a month, the zonal office in Guwahati cleared bills to the tune of over Rs 430 crore during the period, which SIC officials say was done in �great hurry�.
The zonal office in Guwahati oversees the distribution of food grain for the entire region. The total capacity of depots in the region under the zonal office is 392719 metric ton. The existing capacity would be increased by another 110000 metric ton with the creation of depots, taking the total capacity to 529819.
�There was clearly a sense of hurry in clearing the bills. We are investigating the bills and in the next 2-3 weeks things would be get clearer, but definitely there was some serious financial irregularities and the role of these 30 FCI officials would be thoroughly investigated,� Chauhan asserted.
