CBI team to quiz ex-CM Ibobi Singh

NEW DELHI, Jun 23
A Central Bureau of Investigation team is in Manipur to question former Manipur Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh and some officials in connection with the alleged embezzlement of  332 crore by the four former Chairmen of the Manipur Development Society (MDS).
The CBI team's visit comes just days after Mr Ibobi Singh, as head of the Congress legislature party, staked claim to form a new Government in Manipur.
“Mr Ibobi Singh, who was the MDS Chairman during the check period, has been asked to appear before the probe team on Wednesday,” said a CBI official.
In November last year, the agency had registered the case and searched multiple locations in Gurugram, Aizawl and Imphal, on the day when the Manipur Congress legislators led by the former CM staged a protest in Delhi against the Citizenship Amendment Bill and the Naga Accord.
The CBI investigation pertains to two cases earlier instituted by the Manipur Police. Among those named are former MDS Chairmen, Mr Ibobi Singh, and retired IAS officials DS Poonia, PC Lawmuknga and O Nabakishore Singh. The then Project Director, Y Ningthem Singh, and former Administrative Officer, Ranjit Singh, of the Society have also been named as accused.
It is alleged that, from June 30, 2009, to July 6, 2017, the accused persons embezzled the amount that was allocated for development works.
Demonetised notes
After the searches, the CBI had claimed to have seized Rs 26.49 lakh in demonetised notes from Mr. Ibobi Singh's premises, apart from  Rs 11.47 lakh in cash.
During the raids, apart from cash and demonetised currency, the CBI also seized documents related to ownership of various properties, including plots, houses and apartments belonging to Singh and his family members, along with details of a series of bank accounts.
Expensive branded items and eight luxury cars, including an Audi, a Mitsubishi, a Honda, a Hyundai and a Toyota Fortuner, were found to be in possession of the accused, the CBI claimed.
Another amount of Rs 10 lakh in the demonetised currency was also allegedly found on the former Project Director Y Ningthem's premises, apart from the documents of two palatial properties in Imphal.
As alleged, Mr Poonia had assets in Delhi, Gurugram and Noida, while Mr Nabakishore had a four-storey building, two more houses, one flat each in Gurugram and Ghaziabad, and an under construction two-storey building in Manipur. His wife and son had a car dealership in Imphal.
The accused Administrative Officer, Ranjeet Singh had a house in Aizawl and an agricultural land in Imphal in his wife's name, a CBI official had earlier said.
PTI