Shillong: In response to accusations by the Voice of the People’s Party (VPP) regarding the termination of Meghalaya Lokayukta officers, Himalaya M Shangpliang, the spokesperson for the National People’s Party (NPP), emphasized that the government is acting in accordance with the Meghalaya Lokayukta Act, 2014.
The controversy revolves around the dismissal of Director of Inquiry and Prosecution J Rymmai, a former IPS officer, along with Enquiry-cum-Investigating Officers R Pde and Anil K Sangma, who were allegedly involved in exposing a major scam in the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC).
Shangpliang, addressing reporters on Monday, clarified that the appointed officers were retired personnel from the Home (Police) Department. Their appointments, issued in October 2022 for the Director of Inquiry and March 2023 for the Inquiry officers, were interim measures by the government to facilitate the Lokayukta’s office operations.
The NPP spokesperson further explained that, as per the Act’s requirements in Section 10 (2) and 11, officers or staff must be from the department, and a person retired from government service cannot be part of the department. When the government deemed it necessary to equip the Lokayukta with officers as per the Act, names were sent for selection.
On December 19, 2023, the Meghalaya Lokayukta office selected I.W Ingty, IAS, as the Director of Inquiry and Prosecution, along with three MPS – Chalang G Momin, John C Sangma, and Baniateilang Diengngan as its members.
Responding to VPP’s allegations that Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma interfered with Lokayukta’s office functioning, the NPP spokesperson denied any such interference. Shangpliang asserted that there has never been an occasion where the Chief Minister or the government interfered in the selections or appointments of Meghalaya Lokayukta officers.
