Tinsukia: The chairman of the Tinsukia Municipal Board has suspended assistant engineer Jyoti Prasad Das with immediate effect due to alleged corruption, as highlighted in a letter by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Branch.
The move came after the intervention of the district magistrate of Tinsukia following a letter from Assam government’s Department of Housing and Urban Affairs (DoHUA) quoting the letter by the Anti-corruption body wherein certain allegations were raised against Das.
TMB chairman Pabitro Gogoi said, based on the letter by Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-corruption branch, assistant engineer of TMB Jyoti Prasad Das has been suspended with immediate effect.
Responding to a question, Gogoi said, the enquiry has been conducted by Anti-corruption body and we are unaware of the details.
Confirming the development, the district magistrate of Tinsukia Swapneel Paul said, “We got a letter from the state government of certain allegations against Jyoti Prasad Das. The enquiry will only reveal the facts into the allegations, but there are “supposedly” sufficient proofs against him.”
“Hence, to ensure that the truth comes before the citizens, I had written a letter to the chairman of Tinsukia Municipal Board to initiate disciplinary action against Das and ensure no documents and records are tampered during the course of such proceeding,” Paul said, adding, “The suspension is the outcome of this letter.”
The suspension order issued by the Chairman of TMB (a copy of which has been accessed by EastMojo) read: Whereas, a letter was received from District Commissioner, Tinsukia wherein it was mentioned that as per the letter received from DoHUA, wherein a letter of Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-corruption was enclosed, according to which certain allegations of corruption were raised against Jyoti Prasad Das, Assistant Engineer, Tinsukia Municipal Board.
“Now, in view of the serious allegations against Das, Assistant Engineer, Tinsukia Municipal Board departmental proceedings will be started against him immediately for ensuring that no documents/records are tampered with by him during the course of such proceedings, he is placed under suspension with immediate effect,” the order read.
Earlier, the district commissioner had issued a letter to the chairman of TMB vide letter no TCA2/2022/425 dated October 7, 2023, and revealed that the reply to the show cause notice issued to Das was not fully satisfactory.
A copy of the letter issued by District Commissioner
Talking to this correspondent, in his defense, Das said, “I am being victimized for following the law and laid down norms and not obeying illegal verbal orders of a minister to favor his close aides for various contracts. Accordingly, a false complaint has been planted against me before the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-corruption branch on the initiative of a powerful political group whereby they are trying to implicate me for following the law of the land.”
“I assume that the chairman has conceded to pressure by a particular political group and suspended me,” Das added “I have already replied to the show cause notice issued by the district commissioner.”
Attempts to speak to the chairman of Tinsukia Municipal Board Pabitro Gogoi have turned futile.
In June this year, Tinsukia police had issued a notice to the executive officer of Tinsukia Municipal Board u/s 91 of CrPC seeking details of building permission, both residential and commercial, that have been granted in the last 10 years. “What is the specific law and the provisions of law followed by Tinsukia Municipal Board in granting the permissions, especially in respect of parking facilities, and whether any building owner is found violating the provision and actions taken against them,” the notice, giving 5 days’ time for reply, read.
Dear Reader,
Over the past four years, EastMojo revolutionised the coverage of Northeast India through our sharp, impactful, and unbiased coverage. And we are not saying this: you, our readers, say so about us. Thanks to you, we have become Northeast India’s largest, independent, multimedia digital news platform.
Now, we need your help to sustain what you started.
We are fiercely protective of our ‘independent’ status and would like to remain so: it helps us provide quality journalism free from biases and agendas. From travelling to the remotest regions to cover various issues to paying local reporters honest wages to encourage them, we spend our money on where it matters.
Now, we seek your support in remaining truly independent, unbiased, and objective. We want to show the world that it is possible to cover issues that matter to the people without asking for corporate and/or government support. We can do it without them; we cannot do it without you.
Support independent journalism, subscribe to EastMojo.
Thank you,
Karma Paljor
Editor-in-Chief, eastmojo.com
The development gained importance after several citizens knocking the doors of district administration and superintendent of police with complaints of violations of parking provision by building owners, resulting in hassle for commuters, and making the present and future of Tinsukia vulnerable, hinting towards massive corruption and scam underway in building constructions.
Taking a cue from this, Tinsukia SP Abhijit Gurav took a tough stand on the lack of adequate parking by multi-storeyed commercial and residential building owners and issued a notice to Tinsukia Municipal Board after a preliminary report has pointed out anomalies but unfortunately TMB did not respond to the notice till date, sources claimed.
Also Read | Assam: Army Act will disappear from state, says CM
Trending Stories
- Shillong Teer Result today: Check winners of Shillong Teer for December 01
- Khanapara Teer Result today: Winners of Khanapara Teer December 01
- Meghalaya: Two-day gaming fest Odyssey kicks off in Shillong
- Mizoram: Protest against change in vote counting day sees low turnout
- A new way to fight sexual violence in conflict zones
- Eco-friendly devotion: Flowers offered at Tripura Sundari converted into fertiliser
