JORHAT, July 17 - The Majuli sub-divisional judicial court has sentenced a gaon panchayat president of the Brahmaputra island to three months rigorous imprisonment after convicting her of cheating a genuine beneficiary of a Government scheme and allotting a house under IAY scheme to some other ineligible person.
According to sources in the Majuli court, the president of Phulani Gaon Panchayat Jonali Nath was convicted by the court on Saturday under Section 417 of the IPC for depriving and cheating an old lady from getting a house under the IAY scheme in 2015. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on Nath.
Padmeshwar Doley, son of Biroye Doley of Karkichuk village under Jengraimukh Police Station in Majuli had lodged a case (No:46/2015) in 2015 at the Majuli sub-divisional judicial court against Nath, alleging that the GP president had committed an act of cheating by allotting the house his mother was orginally allotted under the IAY scheme to some other ineligible person.
Padmeshwar also alleged that Jonali demanded and took Rs 3,000 from him with an assurance to allot the IYC house later to his mother, but did not allot the same. Though Jonali was booked under sections 506, 323, 468 and 417 of the IPC, but the court found her guilty under 417 also, and passed the order.
During the past three to four years, several cases of financial anomaly and corruption have come up against GP presidents and secretaries in Majuli island - a former civil sub-division of Jorhat district - which was upgraded to a full-fledged district by the Sarbananda Sonowal Government in September last year. Sonowal represents Majuli Assembly constituency.
