DIMAPUR, JUNE 25 (MExN): Duped employees of the fraud welfare society – SCWE, while expressing displeasure on the dissatisfactory progress of investigation into the fraud case, have submitted a 5-point charter of demands to the Deputy Commissioner, Dimapur. A thorough re-investigation was also demanded.
The employees, together with aspiring entrepreneurs who applied for grants under the SCWE’s ‘The Rising East’ scam jointly petitioned the DC on Monday, June 25 under the forum - Employee Association of Nagaland-Society for Child & Women Empowerment (EAN-SCWE) for expediting proceedings into the case.
The memorandum also outlined the events that led to the present predicament. It stated that before the eventual arrest of the self-styled Chief Managing Director and Human Resource and Operations Manager of the SCWE - Amit Kumar Singh and Raja Chandan Kunal - on June 6 from Guwahati by the Bureau of Investigation for Economic Offences; the scamming duo went underground on May 6 alongwith cash amounting to Rs. 27, 36, 720 collected as ‘processing fees’ from over a thousand grant-seeking applicants. The defrauded amount comes to the tune of Rs. 2.5 crore for the north-east combined.
When all efforts to contact the duo failed, the employees lodged a ‘Missing complaint’ at GRPS, Dimapur; followed by another complaint which was lodged at the PHQ, Kohima on May 21. A criminal case was later registered at GRPS, Dimapur. On June 18, Singh and Kunal was brought to Dimapur.
“However, the investigation taken up by the Investigation Officer of GRPS is not satisfactory…” the memorandum said. It expressed surprise stating that investigation was so easily concluded in a short span of two days. When, on the other hand, the investigation officer has not sought any formal statement from the complainants as is the norm.
It alleged that the accused reported in the presence of the IO and FOs at GRPS that the swindled money was given to one P. Kalita. “… but to our knowledge no investigation or any further action was taken to establish the allegations made by the two accused. Documents supporting their claim should be produced or intimated.” “The IO of GRPS denied of knowing the accused’s Lawyer although they were sitting together at GRPS office on 19th & 21st of June 2012… misled us by continuously telling that the accused were brought only for 5 days although there is no mention of such paper from BIEO, Guwahati. In addition, the IO was on the hurry to transfer the accused to Guwahati, in spite of our repeated plea to properly investigate the case on 21/ 06/ 2012,” it further alleged.
The EAN-SCWE in the memorandum questioned how the investigating officer could forward the accused duo to the court/jail when the complainants were neither summoned for recording their statements nor asked of any documents. It also added that Singh and Kunal have manipulated the SCWE website preventing access.
Citing lapses, the EAN-SCWE demanded a re-investigation of the case. The 5-point charter of demands included: refund of money collected from applicants, additional compensation for the 150 applicants whose applications were approved, disbursement of arrears i.e. unpaid salaries beginning March to June 2012 to the SCWE employees plus a year’s compensation in salary, removal of the present investigating officer and assigning the case to a superior officer while appealing for an enquiry against the officer on the alleged lapses, and up-to-date information on the progress of investigation.
The memorandum stated that the demands be met by June 31, failing which the EAN-SCWE alongwith support from the applicants and civil organizations will be compelled to take up further agitation.
