Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, October 08 2008:
With difference of opinion coming to the fore, high ranking officials of the Excise Department unabashedly exchanged heated argument among themselves presenting a rare spectacle today.
Though they stopped short of exchanging blows, the highly respected unifomed personnel of the Department responsible for curbing narcotic activities in the State outdid each other in verbal duel using the choicest abuses inside the headquarters complex of the Department at Lamphal at around 1.35 pm today taking the staff and and the visitors alike by surprise.
According to information received by the press, like every month, a meeting of the Officers in-charge of the Department presided over by its Commissioner K Panmei was convened in the office chamber of the latter today to review and discuss issues related to the revenue collection and progress of the cases taken up by the Department.
During the course of the meeting, some of the Officers in-charge raised strong objection to the charges of corruption levelled against all the officers including the Commissioner by the Anti-Corruption Front (ACF) of the Deparment through the press/media recently and the demand for checking their properties/assets.
It led to a heated argument among the high ranking officials with some disowning the statement of the ACF.
After half an hour of pandemonium, the Commissioner declared the meeting closed and walked into his room.
However, the agitated high ranking officials carried on with their argument even after coming out from the office chamber of the Commissioner.
Later addressing a press conference at the complex of the Excise Department, general secretary of All Manipur Excise Employees' Welfare Association L Bole asserted that besides this Association of the employees there is no other Association in the Department.
The so-called Anti-Corruption Front (ACF) is not recognised by the Association and all the charges levelled against the officers by the Front recently are baseless, he added.