Two persons, including a Manipur State Power Company Limited (MSPCL) employee arrested in a fund embezzlement case have been further remanded in police custody till April 8 by the court on Wednesday.
Special Judge (Lokayukta), Manipur on Wednesday remanded the accused Aribam Rajendra Sharma and O Yaiskul Singh to three more days’ police custody, as the investigating officer of the case prayed to extend the custody remand.
The two were arrested for alleged involvement in embezzlement of huge amounts of public money from fund released for government projects.
Special public prosecutor submitted that the accused persons were not fully cooperating in the investigation, and there was further need for seizing of other materials either at the instance of the accused or from their possession.
It was also submitted that both the accused persons could not explain or give credible reasons for the procedural lapses and mismatch in the procedure relating to the case.
The senior counsel submitted that there were procedural lapses from the beginning of the registration of the FIR as well as in the investigation of the case.
After hearing the submission from the special public prosecutor and senior counsel, the court remanded them in further custody for interrogation or taking their statements.
The court stated that the question of procedural lapses etc may be considered elaborately in the next date of hearing on April 8.
Further, the court directed the investigating officer of the case to produce both the accused before the competent medical authority and submit the medical documents before the court.
Rajendra is former AE of Lokchao Sub-Station and re-engaged as DGM/Transmission Div. No. III, MSPCL, while Okram Yaiskul Singh is former SO Transmission Construction Div. No. 1 (now retired).
As per the statement of the investigating officer, the two caused major changes to a project in an unauthorised manner and also by doing illegal activities in the name of executing the project.
As per the report, the said project includes construction of 2x1MVA sub-station at Chakpikarong along with associated 33 V line (for 45 kms) and related civil work on Turn-Key basis under Non-Lapsable Central Pool of Resources (NLCPR) Scheme.
The FIR, in the case, was lodged after a detailed enquiry into the case was recommended by the Lokayukta, Manipur.
It is also reported that the main accused of the case N Sarat Singh, currently engaged as managing director of MSPCL, has absconded to Bengaluru on March 30 by violating his interim anticipatory bail condition laid down in the court order dated February 14.
He had retired as chief engineer (Power) after serving for five years in 2014 and has since been serving as the managing director of MSPCL for the last seven years.
