Shillong (Meghalaya), April 5: The ruling National People’s Party (NPP) in Meghalaya has distanced itself from the seizure of Rs 1 crore cash in Arunachal Pradesh by the election squad from a vehicle trailing the convoy of its national president and Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma.
In an official statement issued by the spokesman of the party Spokesman, Himalaya Muktan Shangpliang on Friday, the party expressed surprise at the reports, stating that they were entirely unaware of the incident until it was brought to light by the media.
The statement said that any attempt to associate this incident with our National President is unfounded and lacks merit.
Shangpliang said “On April 4, 2024, our National President, Shri. Conrad K. Sangma, visited Longding,Arunachal Pradesh, to campaign for our party candidates. During this visit, an incident allegedly involving a vehicle trailing our party president’s convoy has come to light, implicating our party in the recovery of cash”.
“Firstly, we categorically state that the vehicle in question was not a part of our convoy, which was certified officially by the SP of Longding area. Secondly, our convoy, including the vehicles carrying our National President, underwentstandard security checks as per the protocols established during the election code of conduct. No irregularities were detected during these procedures,”he added.
He added, “During the checking of vehicles at Kanubari check gate by the FST, SST and police, our party vehicles were thoroughly checked including that of our National President, National General Secretary and the team accompanying our president. The police vehicles were also thoroughly checked and nothing was found.”
The spokesman also clarified, ” We were not aware of the incident involving the aforementioned vehicle until it was reported in the media. Our party was blindsided by the news, and any attempt to link this incident with our National President is baseless and without merit. This is for general clarification and necessary information.”
It may be mentioned that a sum of Rs 1 crore was confiscated from a vehicle tailing the convoy of Meghalaya chief minister Conrad Sangma in Longding district of Arunachal Pradesh on Thursday (April 04).
The cash was found in a vehicle belonging to an official of the Badri Rai company, which was trailing the Meghalaya CM’s convoy en route to Longding in Arunachal Pradesh for campaigning on behalf of NPP candidates.
Badri Rai company is presently involved with many projects in Meghalaya.
Police said a Fortuner car (registration number AS-01-ET-5252) was observed following closely behind.
