Aizawl: A special court in Mizoram on Thursday sentenced a retired senior official to 2 years imprisonment and slapped him with a fine of Rs. 15 lakh in over a decade-old graft case.
Earlier on Wednesday, the special court (Prevention of Corruption Act) in Aizawl, had convicted former state Public Work Department Engineer-in-Chief and Secretary Liansanga under section 409, 477A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and section 13 (2) read with 13 (1) (c) & (d) of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 for abusing his official position by modifying the government original tender of two mini hydro electric projects in the state.
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The special court judge H.T.C Lalrinchhana pronounced the sentences for the convict on Thursday.
Although the convict was sentenced to undergo imprisonment of 2 years each and fined Rs. 5 lakh each for three charges or sections of the IPC and PC Act under which he was convicted, the special court decided that the period of imprisonment will run concurrently and allowed the convict to undergo two years imprisonment on the ground of old age.
However, the convict will have to pay Rs. 15 lakh failing which he will undergo another imprisonment for 5 years, the verdict said.
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Liansanga was found guilty of according undue pecuniary benefits to a Mumbai-based firm- Eastern Overseas Corporation which undertook the construction of Kau-Tlabung and Tuipanglui hydroelectric projects by modifying terms and conditions of the original tender as desired by the contractor during his stint as the Chief Engineer of State Power and Electricity department between 1994 and 1998.
Kau-Tlabung mini hydroelectric project is located in the Lunglei district and Tuipanglui mini hydro-electric project in the Siaha district, both in the southern part of the state.
Liansanga was also found guilty for the delay in the two hydro-electric projects, which caused a wrongful loss in power generation for more than three years thereby incurring a loss of over Rs. 18.39 crore to the government.
The corruption case against Liansanga and other 15 senior engineers of the state power and electricity department was initiated by the Anti-Corruption Bureau ACB) after the erstwhile anti-corruption watchdog, the People’s Right to Information and Development Implementing Society of Mizoram (PRISM) submitted a written complaint in October 2008.
Initially, Liansanga was booked under sections 120B, 409, 420, 34 of the IPC and 13(1)(c)(d) and 13 (2) of the PC Act, 1988.
However, he was acquitted under sections 420, 34 and 120B of the IPC as the prosecution failed to prove his case due to a lack of cogent and plausible evidence.