A special court in Mizoram sentenced Former Chief Executive Member of the Chakma Autonomous District (CADC) Kali Kumar Tongchangya in connection to a corruption case on Tuesday.
Tongchangya had been convicted of swindling Rs 179 crore meant for road construction under the Non-Lapsable Central Pool of Resources (NLCPR) while he used the money for the Congress party's election campaign in 2013 CADC elections.
He was sentenced to prison under section 409 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) to undergo 4 years imprisonment with a fine of Rs. 2 lakhs in default, another imprisonment of one year, informed Special Judge HTC Larinchhana. "Having no previous criminal records, and no evidence showing that he had pocketed the swindled money, both the sentences except the fine shall run concurrently," the judge said.
He was remanded to judicial custody and sent to the Central Jail at Tantril after the pronouncement of the sentence. The total amount misappropriated by Kali Kumar Tongchangya was Rs 179 crore which included Rs 190 crore he took from Digamber Chokma executive secretary and DDO of CADC.
The prosecution said that Tongchangya when he was CEM of the CADC took Rs 170 crore from the fund meant for the construction of a road between Longpuighat and Kukurduleya village in south Mizoram's Lowingtial district under NLCPR. The Centre sanctioned a total amount of over Rs 11.29 crore for the construction of the road during 2003-2013 and disbursed the amount in three installments. The construction of the road could not be completed due to the misappropriation of the funds meant for it by the then CEM.
Besides Rs 1.70 crore taken by Tangchangya, who was also President of the Chakma District Congress Committee Rs 8.03 lakh was also disbursed from the CADC exchequer in accordance with his verbal instructions to meet various expenses by the Congress party in the run-up of 2013 CADC pols. The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACS) officials who recovered Rs 1.26 crore from 16 candidates could not recover Rs 53,03.773 due to different reasons
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