Shillong: The Meghalaya High Court has directed the state’s Home secretary to submit an action-taken report on the alleged illegal procurement of vehicles by some officials of the police department.
The High Court also sought to know if any arrest was made against those who were prima facie found to be involved in the police vehicle racket to remove their assets or funds.
“Such report should be filed when the matter appears next on October 17,” Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice W Diengdoh said in an order on Friday.
The court was hearing a PIL on the alleged illegal procurement of vehicles by officials of the Police department in the recent past.
The petitioners claimed that different vehicles were purchased by the Police department since 2019 without any valid sanction from the competent authority and that a total number of 29 official vehicles were in the personal custody of the then Assistant Inspector General (Administration) of the Meghalaya Police.
The petitioners suspected though there was some hue and cry after the matter surfaced and some semblance of an inquiry may also have been conducted, there may be an attempt to cover up the entire episode.
In its reply, the counsel representing the Meghalaya government informed that an inquiry has been conducted and the matter is under consideration and that charges may be framed against some persons against whom prima facie material has been found.
The counsel has, however, informed that it was too early for any “drastic action” to be taken immediately.
Unsatisfied with the counsel’s reply, the bench said, “Unfortunately, the greater scam in this country is not in the scams themselves, but in the inquiries that follow the scams.”
“More often than not, tonnes of paper are wasted to bury the truth and seldom have the guilty been taken to task or any attempt made to recover the public money that was wasted. It is hoped that this particular matter does not travel the same established route,” the bench added.