Source: Hueiyen News Service
Imphal, October 05 2010:
A village chief in Kangpokpi escaped unhurt when enraged villagers attacked him on the charge of diverting huge amounts of MGNREGS funds meant for payment of wages to job card holders.
The incident occurred in the evening on Saturday October 2, at the house of the village chief, Deernath Sharma of Char Hazar village under Sapermaina Police Station in Senapati district.
Police have registered a case against some villagers on receiving a complaint from the village chief.
Villagers stormed his house and, dragged him out and started thrashing him on the charge of diverting "huge amounts" of funds meant for payment of wages to MGNREGS workers.
Some of them armed with knives, charged the village chief of pocketing the funds under the convenient excuse of have given away a percentage to undergrounds.
As per the complaint lodged to the Sapermaina police station, the village chief alleged that the villagers threatened to kill him by flashing knives and other deadly weapons.
Interestingly, the incident occurred on the same day on which Chief Minister Okram Obobi strongly charged Pradhans and Members of Gram Panchayats and Village Chiefs of hill areas in Manipur of turning the job cards of MGNREGS into "job cars" for themselves.
He was speaking at the concluding function of the year-long programme of the 'Year of Gram Panchayat' held in Imphal.