CBI raid in RRI of Ayurveda

CBI raid in RRI of Ayurveda
Pabin Khaling, KalimNews

CBI raid in RRI of Ayurveda

Gangtok, Mar 31: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) today raided the office of Regional Research Institute (Ayurveda) under the AYUSH Ministry for Sikkim here at Tadong, Gangtok as part of its final round of investigations on alleged irregularities in appointment of four Group C and D level post in the institution.
The two-member CBI team had arrived at Gangtok yesterday and today visited the Regional Research Institute (Ayurveda) to conduct its investigations, the details of which was not disclosed to the media. However, it was informed that the investigations, which resumed from 2009, is on its final stage and charge sheet would be framed against the accused persons by April or May this year and submitted before a CBI designated court here in Gangtok.
The CBI had been directed to probe by the High Court of Sikkim in 2006 following a petition by a local candidate who had appeared for the seven posts for Group C and D advertised by the institute in 2005. The petitioner had prayed for an enquiry in the process of selection and appointment made by the then officer in-charge of the Regional Research Institute (Ayurveda) Dr Pratap Makhija who was also the then chairman of the selection committee.
A preliminary enquiry had been conducted by the CBI which revealed that the Central Council for Research in Ayurveda and Sidha (CCRAS), New Delhi had carried out a special recruitment drive for SC and STs at its various peripheral institutions. On the basis of directions of CCRAS, the Tadong regional institute had advertised vacancies for seven posts like lab technician, lab assistant and peons. The institute had advertised that priority will be given to the local candidates.
The selection committee chaired by Dr Makhija selected seven candidates, out of which four were non-local candidates Mukesh Kumar of Haryana, Ramayan Singh Meena of Uttar Pradesh, Surendra Mohan Sihara of Rajasthan and Joidev Konal of West Bengal.
It is also revealed that first three non-local candidates had ‘furnished fales information/certificates for proving their candidature and for establishing themselves as local candidates’. It is also alleged the Dr Makhija ‘actively’ worked for these candidates for ensuring their selection although they ‘were not possessing the essential qualifications/eligibility criteria’.
“It was prima facie established that Dr P Makhija being a public servant had abused his official position’ and in conspiracy with the non local candidates and others, got them appointed at various post at the Tadong regional research institute, the CBI said in its FIR lodged at Calcutta. Preliminary charges of suspected offence for criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery and abuse of official position under section 120-B, read with 420, 471 of IPC read with 13(1)(d) PC Act 1988 had been registered in December, 2006.
Sources informed that Dr Makhija had deliberately kept out deserving local candidates from four out of the seven posts as advertised for. They also alleged that Dr Makhija had given appointments despite the non-local candidates having low qualification and experience as compared to some of the locals who had appeared for the posts.
“He did not follow the recruitment rules as the locals should had been inducted into the posts like it happened in all the other 30 other regional research institutes where only locals here given appointment. Only in Sikkim, non-locals managed to get appointments”, said a source.
Dr Makhija had served as the in-charge of the Tadong regional centre from 2002 till 2006. Following the CBI intervention after the High Court’s direction, he had been suspended for some time before he was re-instated and transferred elsewhere. The appointments of all the seven candidates consisting of four non-locals and three locals had also been terminated but the non-locals managed to get reinstated after they appealed to the Central Administrative Tribunal.
The locals did not approach the tribunal, reasons of which are unclear at this moment.
Meanwhile, a petition had been filed in the Supreme Court seeking a stay in the CBI investigations by one accused person that was finally dismissed by the court in 2009 prompting the CBI to reopen the case and resume the investigations.
However, the regional centre has also appealed the tribunal for reinstatement of the three local candidates on humanitarian grounds but the matter is still pending, it is informed.
The Tadong regional centre has 25 employees out of which only one is a local from Sikkim, it is informed.