Shillong, Sep 4: Ending a criminal case that goes back more than 15 years, the Meghalaya High Court today quashed proceedings against cabinet minister Ampareen Lyngdoh and two former Education Department officials, Jeffrey D Sangma and Ameka Lyngdoh, in the so-called Education Scam of 2009.
According to a lawyer of Sangma, the High Court, based on materials on record, ruled that suspicion of forgery and interpolations could not be made out by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to the extent of creating reasonable doubt in favour of the accused.
Ampareen, who was then the Education Minister in a Congress Party-led government, along with the two officials, were accused of manipulating score sheets to favor certain candidates in the selection process for assistant teachers in lower primary schools.
The minister had always denied the charges but they have hung over her head in the years since, with her political opponents never wasting an opportunity to attack her over the alleged scam.
The case not only affected her but also her family members, as she said while welcoming the verdict.
Addressing a press conference at her home today evening, Ampareen said, “Today I remember my late mother. I told mom I didn’t do it but she was constantly pressured, she is no longer here to enjoy this beautiful day. I remember my late brother RG Lyngdoh, who, despite everything, always told me that if you have not done it you will continue your service to the people. Today’s verdict validates our stand. The name of Mr Peter Garnett Marbaniang (her late father, who was also a politician) is not in any way compromised. We are a family that upholds justice and that will service the people of the state to the best of our capacities.”
She also told those who wrongly accused her that she will pray for grace to forgive all of them. “You brought a lot of pain to my life. How you, without any clue, continued to put white ink on my name,” Lyngdoh added.
The cabinet minister and East Shillong MLA was in Ri-Bhoi on an official programme today and received an emotional welcome when she returned home with family and supporters waiting for her.
Senior Supreme Court lawyer Salman Khurshid represented Ampareen Lyngdoh, while Ameka Lyngdoh was represented by TT Diengdoh.
It was the High Court that in 2017 directed the CBI to take over the case from the Meghalaya police. Proceedings continued to drag on, with the CBI listing nearly 500 witnesses to give testimony in the case.
In December last year the High Court suggested that the CBI cut down the list of witnesses so that only those who could prove the case beyond reasonable doubt can be produced and examined by the court. The CBI then removed 317 witnesses but that still left 175 on its list, of whom only 28 had presented testimony by March-April this year.
Then, in May, Ampareen and Sangma challenged the CBI charge sheet and the High Court today quashed the case and acquitted Ampareen Lyngdoh, Sangma and Ameka Lyngdoh.
