CBI recovers banned notes with face value of ₹26L from ex-CM of Manipur

The CBI carried out searches at nine locations in three cities after filing a case against former chief minister O Ibobi Singh and others for allegedly misappropriating ₹332 crore from development funds in Manipur, the officials said on Friday (November 22).

During searches at Singh’s residence, the CBI recovered ₹11.47 lakh in cash and ₹26.49 lakh in old demonetised currency, which is also a crime and may lead to penalty of five times the recovered currency, they said.

The agency searched the residences of Singh and former IAS officers who were part of the Manipur Development Society in Aizawl, Imphal and Gurgaon, they said.

Some branded items and eight luxury cars of Audi, Mitsibushi, Honda and Hyundai were also found during the searches at Singh’s residence, they said.

It is alleged that Singh, the then chairman of the Manipur Development Society (MDS), during his tenure from June 30, 2009 to July 6, 2017, in conspiracy with others, misappropriated government funds to the tune of ₹332 crore out of the total amount of ₹518 crore which was entrusted to them for the purpose of executing development work, the CBI spokesperson said.

The CBI has registered the case on the request of the Manipur government routed through the Centre. Along with Singh, the CBI has also named three former MDS chairmen — D S Poonia, P C Lawmuknga, O Nabakishore Singh — all retired IAS officers.

Y Ningthem Singh, the former project director of the society and S Ranjit Singh, its administrative officer have also been named in the FIR.

The CBI also recovered ₹10 lakh of old currency from Ningthem Singh and documents of two palatial houses in Imphal, sources said. The agency also found property and bank documents from residence of Poonia, Lawmkunga and Nabakishore.