Dimapur, Dec. 28: The ACAUT Nagaland felt that since Chief Minister TR Zeliang publicly admitted that indeed repackaging of PDS rice took place under the directive of Food & Civil Supplies department, he would be liable for prosecution before the appropriate authority when the time comes. Zeliang is also the minister in-charge of the department.
In a statement on Thursday, the media cell of ACAUT said it was “gratified” that the Chief Minister chose to justify himself and his department on the ‘PDS scam’.
There is nothing in the PDS Order Act 2001 or the Food Security Act 2013 conferring upon the state government the authority to repackage PDS items, the ACAUT stated. “Therefore, it fools no one for the F&CS department to issue a backdated order (4th November), hurriedly drafted after 9th December authorizing the stockiest to repackage rice in white synthetic bags,” it said.
According to ACAUT, the CMO press release “directly shields” Vinay Kumar Sethi aka Tinku, “PDS accused as well as murder suspect in the killing of his own uncle Sailesh Sethi in 1997.”
It demanded that the Dimapur police reopen the ‘murder case’ against Tinku, an accused in the “ongoing PDS scam”.
The ACAUT cited a police charge-sheet filed by West Police station: There was “an ongoing dispute between late Sailesh Sethi and Pawan kumar Sethi in regard to the family property,” Pawan being the father of Tinku, PDS accused. Thereafter, “under the instigation of Pawan Sethi, his son Vinay Kumar Sethi @ Tinku had hatched a criminal conspiracy to eliminate his pestilient uncle.”
The IO of the case, K. Pochury, the ACAUT stated, adds that “Mr. Tinku is the main culprit who had planned to kill late Sailesh Kumar.” The IO also concludes that “right after the murder, Pawan Kumar and family got settled at Calcutta,” the press release stated.
From the charge-sheet, the organisation said it was “clear that the father and son duo are the prime suspects” and that it was “also very clear that Tinku, despite being a murder suspect still continues to be the most powerful man in Nagaland till this day.”
For 19 years, the anti-graft group stated, this man, instead of being locked up in jail, “has been courted by successive chief ministers which is most shameful and demeaning to the office of the chief minister and an insult to all right thinking Nagas.”
