Former CM convicted in corruption case

Gangtok, Oct 25 (UNI) Former Sikkim Chief Minister Nar Bahadur Bhandari was today convicted by a CBI-designated Court in a corruption case.

District and Sessions (North/East) Court, which had been designated as the CBI court, found Bhandari and former Chief Secretary P K Pradhan and other accused guilty in the corruption case.

CBI Court Judge S W Lepcha sentenced them to six months imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on each of them.

Mr Bhandari and others were found guilty of charges of criminal conspiracy under Section 120(B) IPC and 5(2) of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947 read with Section 5(1)(d) of 1947 and Section 13(2) read with Section 13(1)(d) of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.

The convicted shall undergo imprisonment for another one month in case of default of the fine amount, the judge said.

CBI had registered a case against 17 people, including Mr Bhandari, in 1984 on the recommendations of the then state government headed by B B Goroong that the accused persons had abused their positions as public servant to award contract works of the rural development department to their favourite contractors, thereby causing loss of public money to the tune of Rs 2,41,120.

Mr Bhandari and others were facing charges for the last 25 years in the trial court.

Besides the former Chief Minister and the former Chief Secretary, other eight contractors were also convicted by the Court.

Five of the accused had died during the trial of the case.

UNI BG KK RJ LR KP1909