CBI court sentences 5, acquits 7 in multi-crore-rupee LoC scam in Assam

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaOctober 30, 2024

The Special CBI Court in Guwahati has pronounced its verdict on the 34-year-old Rs 200 crore LoC scam involving Assam’s Veterinary and Animal Husbandry Department. Five individuals were convicted, while seven others were acquitted.

Those who are convicted are- M. Rahman was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment and a fine of Rs 35,000; B.N. Chakraborty to three years’ rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 25,000; Jayanta Sharma to three years’ rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 40,000; T.K. Das to three years’ rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 50,000 and Pranab Saikia was sentenced to one and a half years’ imprisonment and a fine of Rs 10,000.

The seven acquitted individuals include D. Purakayastha, D. Sonowal, D. Laskar, Tutu Chetry, H. Vaipei, A. Kro, and Jadav Gogoi.

The scam came to light in the early 1990s during the tenure of Chief Minister Hiteswar Saikia, who handed the investigation over to the CBI in 1994. Initial investigations by the Anti-Corruption Bureau in 1993 led to the filing of an FIR, after which the CBI filed a charge sheet on May 13, 1994, accusing 34 individuals. Many, including key accused Dr. T. Buragohain, passed away during the trial, with only 12 defendants remaining at its conclusion.

Dr. T. Buragohain, as Additional Director of the Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Department (Hills), Haflong, allegedly conspired with officials and private individuals to create and approve fictitious bills totaling Rs 1,74,86,827, withdrawn fraudulently from the treasury. The scandal implicated high-ranking political figures, including former Chief Ministers Prafulla Kumar Mahanta and Hiteswar Saikia.

After Saikia’s death, the CBI sought to prosecute Mahanta in 1998, but Governor Lt. Gen. (Retd) S.K. Sinha declined, causing the case to languish until its revival in 2010 under Tarun Gogoi’s government. The trial saw a significant delay, and the main accused, Rajendra Prasad Borah, passed away in April 2023 due to a kidney ailment, just months before the final judgment.