With an enquiry team uncovering a “vehicle scam” and flagrant overstepping of jurisdiction and authority with relation to the acquisition of vehicles and their misuse by one police official, the Meghalaya Police department appears to have gotten off to a bad start.
The investigation team included SP (Anti-Infiltration) JG Momin, official in command of Central Workshop B Khongwir, Commandant of MLP 1st Battalion CA Lyngwa, Deputy Inspector-General of Police (ER) DNR Marak, and Inspector-General of Police (Law and Order) MK Singh.
A total of 29 official vehicles were in the personal custody of Assistant Inspector-General of Police (A) Gabriel K Iangrai, who has been accused of exceeding his authority and abusing his power, according to the enquiry report, which was prepared based on review of records and documents received from the Police HQ.
Due to the AIG’s failure to provide papers, four of these vehicles—one new Scorpio, one new Bolero, two new Swift Dzires, and two new Bajaj motorcycles—were not given registration numbers (A). According to the report, “the majority of these cars do not conform to the obligatory BS VI requirements and as a result, they do not comply with the orders of the Union Ministry of Road Transport & Highway, which is a blatant breach of regulations.”
Additionally, the report showed that Iangrai frequently used these unregistered vehicles for his own purposes without receiving permission from the police headquarters.
The investigation said, “It is clearly obvious that the automobiles intended for official usage were misappropriated for personal concerns.”
The investigation team captured the statements of various police officers who were collaborating with the AIG (A).
According to the report, as the current investigation report might not accurately represent the scope of the scam, a high-level fact-finding enquiry should be established to look into the specifics of the entire scam.
For the purchase of automobiles, the handing over of records kept at many locations for cross-verification of records, and the taking over of records, a detailed SOP should be prepared.
In truth, the department’s record-keeping practises are appalling, and as a result, the system for preserving records needs to be thoroughly revised. These flaws lead to poor management and other malpractices, as is seen from the current context.
