ED files prosecution complaint against 16

NC HILLS SCAM

By Our Staff Reporter

Guwahati, January 20: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a prosecution complaint against sixteen persons – all accused in the multi–crore NC Hills scam– before a local court here for the offence of money laundering in connection with disproportiote assets cases.

The prosecution complaint has been filed against former DHD(J) leaders Joel Garlosa, Niranjan Hojai, Daniel Dimasa, former Chief Executive Members of NC Hills Autonomous District Council Mohit Hojai and Partho Warisa, Homendra Hojai, contractors Jayanta Ghosh and Sandeep Ghosh (middlemen), Sarita Giri Rai (a Nepali citizen who claimed to be the second wife of Niranjan Hojai) and Venlalche, a Mizoram arms dealer.

ED sources confirmed the development, but refused to provide further details. All the accused are said to have amassed wealth and properties illegally. Many of them are reported to have brought properties outside the State as well as abroad.

The Enforcement Directorate had traced properties of Hojai in Nepal and Singapore. Hojai had been operating the Singapore account by the me Nirmal Rai.

According to revelations from the Nepali woman, Sarita Giri Rai, Hojai had procured a Nepal citizenship by the me Nirmal Rai. Sarita was reportedly operating the Everest Bank account.

Nepal’s Central Investigation Bureau was also involved by the ED to trace other bank accounts linked to Hojai.

Niranjan Hojai was arrested in Nepal in 2010. He and Joel are out on bail now.

Earlier, the CBI had filed charge–sheets against 16 people, including the two former chief executive members, in the corruption scam.

All the alleged cases of corruption, as per the FIR by tiol Investigation Agency (NIA), took place in the fincial year 2008–09.

The total alleged fincial misappropriation in the nine cases is to the tune of Rs 52 crore, according to the cases given to CBI.

The CBI had taken up the cases, which had created a furore in Assam, after the tiol Investigating Agency (NIA), detected fincial anomalies while investigating the nexus between officials, politicians and militants in the insurgency–hit district.

The CBI had earlier recovered over Rs 13 crore from a residence in Guwahati allegedly siphoned off from the council’s fund. Sources claimed that R H Khan, the then deputy director in the social welfare department and now under judicial custody in a case being investigated by NIA, had hidden the money in his brother–in–law Ahmed Hussain’s (junior engineer) house after being siphoned off from the NC Hills Autonomous Council. The ED had taken up cases following the CBI chargesheet.

RH Khan and several others arrested in connection with the cases are in jail now.