Imphal, August 22: Human Rights Law Network has decided to initiate legal action against the Electricity Department for what it terms as 'criminal act' of the Department in giving promotion and then retirement to an employee in 2001 although the said employee had passed away a good 15 years earlier, after being in the service for 16 years.

The deceased employee in question is identified as Laishram Ningthemjao of Thoubal Kiyam Siphai.

Ningthemjao joined the service as a work charge employee in Thoubal Division of the Electricity Department in 1971 and was regularised as an assistant linesman in 1984.Regularisation order of Ningthemjao was issued by the then Chief Engineer E Nandakumar on August 18, 1984.Ningthemjao passed away from an illness on June 21, 1985.However, in the service record of Ningthemjao maintained by the Department it was found that Ningthemjao was promoted to linesman in 1998 before retiring from service on August 18, 2001, which is good 15 years after his demise.

According to the service record, Ningthemjao retired from the office of Imphal Electrical Division No, III, Lamphelpat.

Addressing a press conference in this connection at the office of the Network located at Paona Bazar here today, its co-ordinator Rakesh Meihoubam said the conduct of the Electricity Department in giving promotion and the retirement to a deceased employee is surprising.

Tombi, wife of late Ningthemjao and his son Nishikanta were also present during the media briefing.

It is said at the time of his death, the family members of Ningthemjao had sent necessary intimation and the employees of the Department had even come to participate in last rites performed for the deceased.

His children who were still very young when Ningthemjao passed away and his wife Tombi knew nothing about the whole matter.

It was only after his son Nishikanta grew up and started looking for the service record of his deceased father to avail pension facility in 2004 that the whole thing came to light.

After this, on January 17 this year, a legal notice was served to the Chief Engineer of the Electricity Department to look into the matter related to the service record of late Ningthemjao.

The Chief Engineer referred the legal notice to Thoubal Division which replied back that the service record had been destroyed in the flood of 1996.Subsequently under the provision of Rights to Information Act, applications were filed twice with the Electricity Department requesting informations about the service record of late Ningthemjao.

However, as the Department did not provide any information being sought even after one month of filing the applications, the matter was taken up with the Manipur State Rights to Information Committee whose intervention led to the recovery of the service record of Ningthemjao.

In such a condition, there is no reason why action should not be taken up against the Electricity Department, Rakesh said, adding that the case would be taken up even in the High Court if nothing comes out of it.

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