Meghalaya Director General of Police (DGP) Lajja Ram Bishnoi has filed a petition before the Meghalaya High Court seeking quashing of the FIR filed by suspended cop GK Iangrai against him for using a fake number plate.
This came days after the FIR was registered at Sadar Police Station.
It was registered under Sections 409 (criminal breach of trust), 467 (forgery), 471 (using as genuine a forged document), and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), along with section 192 of the Motor Vehicles Act.
The DGP in his petition has alleged that FIR is not maintainable and that it should be set aside and quashed.
He claimed that the FIR was nothing but vengeance and grudge against him since the suspended police office had faced action during his tenure.
On May 9, former Assistant Inspector General (AIG) of Meghalaya Police GK Iangrai filed an FIR against DGP Lajja Ram Bishnoi for allegedly misuse and tampering of registration number plate of his vehicle.
The complaint filed with Sadar Police Station, also came close to the heel of Bishnoi’s retirement on May 19.
Iangrai, who was arrested on November 2, 2022 for allegedly misappropriating funds sanctioned for the construction of the Nationwide Emergency Response System (NERS) building in Shillong, also sought action against the members of the Inquiry Committee into the matter.
In the FIR, the former AIG said that the Enquiry Committee constituted dated July 18, 2022, in its report contained in Para 1 of page 3, states as follows: “One Hyndai Verna which is parked at Central Workshop has been allotted a fake number and no Registration of the vehicle was done by AIG-A, since no documents are available”.
He said that the said report appears to have been prepared in any easy chair i.e to say without making an on the spot inquiry and cross checking the record of the transport department.
As per a letter under Right to Information (RTI) dated July 27, 2023 about the said vehicle i.e Verna 1.6 VTVT is registered with the transport department, government of Meghalaya, Shillong as ML-02-A-0001, in the name of the Director General of Police, government of Meghalaya.
“The aforesaid information under the RTI by the transport department, government of Meghalaya, nails down the said report of the Inquiry Committee, which calls for necessary action against the members of the Committee,” Iangrai said.
Further in the FIR, the former AIG said that the another aspect of the matter is really intriguing as would be evident from the following facts: “Lajja Ram Bishnoi, who is holding the chair of the Director General of Police, Meghalaya, came to Shillong, to join his present posting on May 17, 2022 in a white Kia Carnival Limousine model vehicle, which was having registration of Government of Assam, but thereafter, it appears Lajja Ram Bishnoi, in an act of criminal conspiracy, changed the number plate of the vehicle and now he is putting a new number plate bearing registration number ML-02-A-0001, which number is registered for the aforesaid vehicle Verna 1.6 VTVT.”
He said it has further been learnt that the said white Kia Carnival Limousine is requisitioned vehicle, for the purpose, best known to Lajja Ram Bishnoi, but he is using the same for his personal use, as would be evident from the photographs of the use and his presence in the vehicle.
