New Delhi: The CBI on Friday conducted searches at the official and residential premises of the former Manipur chief minister, O. Ibobi Singh, in Aizawl, Imphal and Gurgaon in connection with the case of alleged misappropriation of government development funds amounting to Rs 332 crore.
According to sources, the Central probe agency carried out searches at nine locations in three cities immediately after filing a case against the former chief minister and others for allegedly misappropriating Rs 332 crore from development funds in Manipur. During searches at Mr Singh’s residence, the CBI recovered Rs 11.47 lakh in cash and Rs 26.49 lakh in old demonetised currency, which is also a crime and may lead to penalty of five times the recovered currency, they added.
The agency sleuths searched the residences of Mr Singh and former IAS officers who were part of the Manipur Development Society (MDS) in Aizawl, Imphal and Gurgaon, sources said.
It is alleged that Mr Singh, the then chairman of the MDS, during his tenure from June 30, 2009 to July 6, 2017, in conspiracy with others, misappropriated government funds to the tune of Rs 332 crore out of the total amount of Rs 518 crore which was entrusted to them for the purpose of executing development work, said a senior CBI official. The CBI has registered the case on the request of the Manipur government routed through the Centre.
Some branded items and eight luxury cars of Audi, Mitsibushi, Honda and Hyundai were also found during the searches at Mr Singh’s residence, they added.
Along with Mr Singh, the CBI has also named three former MDS chairmen — D.S. Poonia, P.C. Lawmuknga, O. Nabakishore Singh — all retired IAS officers. Y. Ningthem Singh, the former project director of the society and S. Ranjit Singh, its administrative officer have also been named in the FIR. The CBI also recovered Rs 10 lakh of old currency from Ningthem Singh and documents of two palatial houses in Imphal, sources said. The agency also found property and bank documents from residence of Poonia, Lawmkunga and Nabakishore.
