A Special Court of Aizawl has sentenced Lai Autonomous District Council (LADC) Chief Executive Member V Zirsanga to four years of imprisonment for criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust by a public servant, and cheating.
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Zirsanga and the three officials were accused of falsifying accounts, creating bogus service books, and producing fake certificates and other counterfeit educational documents, according to the prosecution. The judge, HTC Lalrinchhana, also imposed a fine of Rs 4 lakh on Zirsanga. Failure to pay the fine would result in an additional two years of imprisonment. On January 19, the court convicted Zirsanga and three others under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The case revolved around the misappropriation of Rs 1.33 crore during Zirsanga’s tenure as the executive member in charge of education (middle school) at LADC.
The sentencing was announced on Monday. Lalduna Chinzah, the then district education officer of Lawngtlai, received a four-year prison term and a fine of Rs 6 lakh. PC Muankima, the former middle school headmaster of Thingkah village, and C Lalchawiliana, the former secretary of the Middle School Teachers’ Association, were sentenced to five years and four years in jail, respectively. Muankima was fined Rs 6 lakh, while Lalchawiliana faced a fine of Rs 4 lakh.
The special court also found 30 teachers and non-teaching staff guilty of fraudulent appointments. They were instructed to pay fines of Rs 6 lakh each. The irregularities were related to the regularization of teachers who had worked at 18 middle schools in Lawngtlai, which were provincialized in January 2012.