The Meghalaya High Court has directed the State government not to take any coercive action against Director General of Police (DGP) Lajja Ram Bishnoi in the case registered against him at Shillong Sadar police station.
The High Court bench of Justice B Bhattacharjee passed the order today on the petition filed by Bishnoi in the High Court challenging the FIR filed against him by suspended police officer Gabriel K. Iangrai in connection with the alleged tampering of registration number of the DGP vehicle. Bishnoi also sought for quashing of the FIR.
“In view of the contentions raised, at the interim, it is provided that no coercive action be taken against the petitioner in Sadar PS FIR No. 141(5) 2024 under Section 409/467/471/120-B of IPC read with Section 192 of M V Act till the returnable date,” the High Court said while listing the matter after three weeks.
During today’s hearing, Bishnoi’s lawyer A Goyal contended that the FIR dated May 9, 2024 in Shillong Sadar police station has been lodged by Iangrai with an ulterior motive to take revenge mainly due to the institution of some enquiry against him during the functioning of the petitioner as the DGP of the Meghalaya Police.
Goyal also contended that the allegations made in the FIR do not fulfill the ingredients of the sections of law under which the FIR has been registered.
It may be mentioned that Iangrai in his FIR against Bishnoi said that the enquiry committee constituted dated July 18, 2022, in its report contained in Para 1 of page 3, states that: “One Hyundai Verna which is parked at Central Workshop has been allotted a fake number and no Registration of the vehicle was done by AIG-A, since no documents are available”.
Further in the FIR, Iangrai said that Bishnoi, who is holding the chair of the Director General of Police, Meghalaya, came to Shillong, to join his present posting on May 17, 2022 in a white Kia Carnival Limousine model vehicle, which was having registration of Government of Assam, “but thereafter, Bishnoi in an act of criminal conspiracy, changed the number plate of the vehicle and now he is putting a new number plate bearing registration number ML-02-A-0001, which number is registered for the aforesaid vehicle Verna 1.6 VTVT.”
Probe into FIR will go on: Conrad
Chief Minister Conrad Sangma today said that the investigation into the complaint against incumbent Director General of Police (DGP) Lajja Ram Bishnoi for allegedly using a fake number plate will continue even after his retirement.
“The FIR has been lodged and has been registered. So the case will continue, the investigation will continue. Retirement does not affect that,” Sangma told media persons here.
Stating that the law will take its own course, the chief minister said, “We have been very clear from day one with every situation of law that we have come across, that law is the same for all and therefore, the law will take its course.”
“Whatever the complaints have come in, the procedure has been followed, FIR has been registered and an investigation is on,” Sangma added.
