DIMAPUR:
The Rising People’s Party (RPP), on April 7, alleged that five close confidants of Nagaland chief minister Neiphiu Rio have been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) under Section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 to appear before it in Guwahati.
RPP president Joel Naga and treasurer Vitho Zao, in a statement issued on April 7, said the ED booked the five – Kuovisieo Rio, Mengutuo Rio, Dsesevi Pielie, Vibeilietuo Kets, Mhalelie Rio – under Case No. ECIR/GWZO/09/2020/488. They added that out of the five, at least two of them have CBI cases pending against them since 2019.
The RPP also provided court documents to substantiate its claims.
“This summon is a first in the history of the state and the harried general public reeling under blatant corruption is finally beginning to believe that the long arm of the law will finally prevail,” the RPP said.
The party further said that all the five “have given their address as Sovima village, Dimapur”.
Saying that Kuovisieo has been appointed in the chief minister’s office (CMO) as the personal assistant to the chief minister, the party said, “This is nothing less than a direct indictment of the chief minister himself.”
The RPP that it is incumbent upon the chief minister to clear the air regarding the alleged money laundering case.
It said though the ED summon letter was issued on February 24, the “deafening silence of the chief minister and the CMO in this matter till now is a story in itself”.
The party demanded that the chief minister should publicly address the issue by calling a press conference in order to put all speculations to rest.
The RPP also alleged that all the five persons in question approached the Kohima bench of the Gauhati High Court pleading to declare the money laundering case filed against them as “void, non-operative”. However, Justice Nelson Sailo and Justice Arun Dev Choudhury had rejected their plea, it added.
The party also requested the ED to pursue the case to its logical conclusion as per the available facts.