A printing press owner in Silchar has accused the Cachar deputy commissioner (DC), Laya Madduri of shielding some corrupt staffers of her office.
Seeking removal of Laya Madduri as Cachar DC, Sujit Kumar Chanda, a printing press owner here on Saturday said, “I demand immediate removal DC Laya Madduri, as she is not only abetting corruption in this district, but also, covering up the misdeeds of other officials and staffers in the office.”
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It was because of Chanda, who owns a printing press–Gana Awaz–in Silchar, a staffer of the election department in Cachar DC office, landed in cops net just days before the last Lok Sabha polls.
The sleuths of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption of Assam police on March 28 this year had arrested Atashi Dutta Tarafdar, the head assistant of the Cachar district election office, while accepting bribe from printing press owner Chanda.
Following her arrest, a high level inquiry committee was constituted by the Cachar DC to find out whether there is any big ‘players’ involved in the case, but, sources said the probe panel has found no one, other than Atasi, involved in the scam.
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Chanda, the man who exposed this major ‘scam’ of taking bribe in return for getting ‘printing works’, had filed an RTI application on July 8, seeking information whether the inquiry committee had given clean-shit to the election department officials and employees, whose names were uttered by arrested Atasi Dutta Tarafdar before the vigilance and anti-corruption sleuths.
Chanda has so far not received any response to his RTI application from the authorities concerned.
Sources privy to the progress of the investigation into the case said that following an inquiry report submitted by the DC’s office to the vigilance and anti-corruption wing, they are all set to file a charge sheet against Atasi.
Except Atasi, no names of staffers have been included in the inquiry report, sources added.
The case against Atasi will come up for hearing in a Special Judge’s Court in Guwahati on August 1.
“How come a head assistant who had the responsibility of looking after EVMs only before the general elections can issue orders for printing works in lieu of money? How it is possible to take bribe in an office and no one knows or is not involved in it,” Chanda told Northeast Now.
Chanda added, “I demand that DC Maduri be removed from this district within the next 15 days as she is abetting corruption, or I will sit for a hunger strike before her office.”
DC Madduri could not be reached for comments despite repeated attempts.