A special court in Aizawl on Wednesday sentenced six people, including the younger brother of Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga, to one year in jail in a corruption case.
These six people were convicted by judge HTC Lalrinchhana of the special court (Prevention of Corruption Act) for receiving government compensation through fictitious claims by forging fake land passes and authority letters.
C Vanlalchhuana, Saiaithanga, C Rokhumi, Lalduhawma and PC Lalthazovi, all residents of Aizawl, and K Lalrawna of Champhai town received compensation amounting to over Rs 2 crore for land submerged by water due to the construction of a 60 MW hydroelectric project on Tuirial river near Saipum village in Kolasib district near the Assam border.
The project undertaken by the North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO) Ltd was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in December 2017.
Vanlalchhuana, a resident of Electric Veng in Aizawl, is the younger brother of Zoramthanga.
They were convicted under IPC sections 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery of valuable security), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged) and 120B (criminal conspiracy).
The court, however, acquitted two others accused — H Lianzela, the then assistant deputy commissioner (ADC) of Aizawl district and present director of state urban development and poverty alleviation (UD&PA), and Lalrinsanga, former village council president of Saipum — as the CBI, which was investigating the case, failed to prove their guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The convicts were also asked to pay Rs 20 lakh each as a fine, failing which they will undergo additional 10 years imprisonment each.
