Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, December 24:
Even as the Government has suspended a former Director and an Assistant Director of the Food and Civil Supplies (FCS) department in connection with the rice scam, government has decided to order a departmental inquiry into the scam involving a loss of Rs 2 crore to the government.
Advisor to the Governor EN Rammohan who also holds the charge of FCS said today that the number of rice scam cases handed over to the CBI by the state government is eleven.
The investigation into the cases had already been completed and the CBI has sought the sanction of the government for framing charges for prosecuting the persons involved in the scam.
The file process for the same has begun, he said adding that government is waiting for the return of chief secretary from Delhi.
The former director and the assistant director were suspended as per the recommendation sent by the CBI in one of the three cases on which the CBI has sent its reports.
Action against persons involved according to the two remaining reports will be taken up once the CS arrives from Delhi, he said.
The names of former chief minister RK Ranbir, FCS secretary RK Madhusudan, the then FCS minister, several other officials and contractors are mentioned in the CBI report.
A CBI official said that several of the persons involved in the scam are working overtime to acquire anticipatory bail from the law court before the government grants the prosecution sanction.
The CBI official said that this is the first time that the investigating body has sought prosecution sanction from the state government since its inception in Manipur in 1975.He said that the present investigation was initiated after the CBI HQ instructed them to conduct it during PR regime.
Stating that there have been threats given to the Investigating Officers of the CBI, the official regretted the lack of security and infrastructure at its branch office located in the city.