Mizoram: Lai council chief executive member sentenced to 4 years in jail in corruption case

A special court in Aizawl sentenced Chief Executive Member of Lai Autonomous District Council V Zirsanga to four years in jail in a corruption case. The irregularity pertains to the regularisation of teachers who worked at the 18 middle schools in Lawngtlai which were provincialised in January 2012.

Aizawl: A special court in Aizawl sentenced Chief Executive Member of Lai Autonomous District Council (LADC) V Zirsanga to four years in jail in a corruption case.

Special Court (Prevention of Corruption Act) judge HTC Lalrinchhana also imposed a fine of Rs 4 lakh on him, and on default, he would undergo an additional two years in jail.

The court had convicted Zirsanga and three other persons on January 19 under IPC sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant) and 420 (cheating), and the Prevention of Corruption Act for misappropriating Rs 1.33 crore when he was the executive member of the LADC in charge of education (middle school).

The quantum of punishments was announced on Monday.

The special court sentenced Lalduna Chinzah, the then district education officer of Lawngtlai, to four years in jail and imposed a fine of Rs 6 lakh on him.

PC Muankima, then middle school headmaster of Thingkah village, and C Lalchawiliana, then secretary of the Middle School Teachers' Association in the district, were also sentenced to five years and four years in jail, respectively.

While a fine of Rs 6 lakh was imposed on Muankima, Lalchawiliana was fined Rs 4 lakh.

Along with them, the special court also convicted 30 teachers and non-teaching staffers, who were fraudulently appointed. The court asked them to pay Rs 6 lakh each as fines.

The irregularity pertains to the regularisation of teachers who worked at the 18 middle schools in Lawngtlai which were provincialised in January 2012. Zirsanga and the three officials falsified the accounts, and made bogus service books, fake certificates and other counterfeit educational documents, according to the prosecution.