Search at former Manipur bureaucrat's residence

The residence of a former top bureaucrat of Manipur, whose name figured in the FIR lodged against a former chief minister and five others for alleged financial irregularities, has been searched, a senior police officer said today.
The search was carried out at the residence of the former project director of Manipur Development Society (MDS) Y Ningthem in Imphal West district yesterday following a search warrant issued by a court, the police officer said.
The result of the search was not known, he said.
Ningthem's name had figured in the FIR lodged against former Manipur chief minister O Ibobi Singh and five former top bureaucrats of the state, for alleged financial irregularities in the MDS.

The five former bureaucrats include three former chief secretaries and two officers of the MDS.
The search warrant was issued after Imphal sub divisional police office (SDPO) PS A Ghanashyam Sharma had filed an application prayer in the court in connection with the alleged financial irregularities in the MDS.

Meanwhile, Congress MLA N Loken Singh at a programme yesterday, had termed the act of registering the FIR against the former chief minister and the former bureaucrats as "political vendetta".
However, Health Minister L Jayantakumar Singh in the BJP-led coalition government, denied the charge.
The former chief minister and the five others were charged of "cheating, criminal conspiracy, breach of trust, and misconduct by a public servant" in the FIR lodged by Th Munindro Singh, Joint Secretary, Planning at Imphal police station on September 1.

The FIR was lodged on the basis of an enquiry report submitted by the Vigilance department.
The vigilance report had said that the former chief minister "is required to be examined and record his statement as he was the chairman of MDS from July 1, 2013 to August 31, 2014.
O Ibobi Singh and two former chief secretaries named in the FIR had denied the charges and termed it as a "fabrication", a day after the FIR was lodged.
Before the state assembly elections in March 2017, the BJP had promised in its election manifesto that all financial scams in the last 15 years would be probed.

O Ibobi Singh was the chief minister for three terms beginning 2002 till March 2017.