NEW DELHI:
Former Union Minister P K Thungon was today sentence to four and half years’ jail term in a graft case by a Delhi court which observed this matter highlights “institutionalised corruption” involving the political class and high bureaucrats.
The court also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on 68-year-old Thungon, saying that due to misappropriation of money by politicians and bureaucrats, “poor people of Nagaland were cheated”.
Besides Thungon, Special CBI Judge Ajay Kumar Jain awarded three and half years of imprisonment to two other convicts, Tali A O and C Sangit, while fourth convict Mahesh Maheshwari was given two and half years jail term in the case.
The court imposed a fine of Rs 6,000 each on Tali A O and Sangit.
It imposed a fine of Rs 3,000 on convict Maheshwari who was later granted bail to enable him to file an appeal against this judgement before a superior court on a personal bond of Rs 50,000 with one surety of the like amount.
“The present case highlights the institutionalised corruption involving political class and high bureaucrats. This case unfolds and brings out in the limelight the known fact that how the Central grants allocated to public welfare of the states are misappropriated by highest public functionaries including ministers at Centre, states and top bureaucrats that too with full impurity,” the judge said.
In its 13-page order on quantum of sentence, the court said “the entire records were fudged and nobody dared to complain despite the fact that it is in the knowledge of both at the Centre as well as State Government level.”
“Any independent institutional mechanism to detect and bring forth this kind of misappropriation is lacking or in case if any, disabled to work. Scam after scam become norm of the day. The poor people of Nagaland were cheated and in their name and the entire money was misappropriated by the politicians and the bureaucrats with the aide of private persons,” it said.
The case pertaining to misappropriation of Rs two crore funds released by the Centre for public welfare of Nagaland was lodged by CBI in 1998.
Thungon is a former Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh. (AGENCIES)
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