Mizoram IAS officer gets 3-year jail term for graft

AIZAWL: The Court of Special Judge (Prevention of Corruption Act) in Aizawl on Monday convicted secretary to the Mizoram government for horticulture department, Rodney L Ralte, in a graft case and sentenced him to rigorous imprisonment for 3 years.
Special judge Thanglian Mang Guite, who pronounced the order, also slapped a fine of Rs 5 lakh. Raltey has been found guilty of misappropriating over Rs 14 lakh while he was posted as the deputy commissioner of Mamit district in 2010-11.He was accused of illegally availing pecuniary benefits in the process of relocating villagers of Andermanik from inside the Dampa Tiger Reserve.
The court, however, gave one month's time to the convicted official to approach a higher court, a source said.
Earlier, the same court had convicted Lalrempuii Fanai, a state civil service officer, in a corruption case relating to purchase of computers and sent her to prison for 5 years. It had also slapped a fine of Rs 5 lakh.
Fanai, daughter of former state chief secretary F Pahnuna, had purchased 150 computer sets in 2008 when she was the director of the State Institute of Rural Development in Kolasib district. Corruption watchdog PRISM (now converted to political party) had lodged an FIR against the official at the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) on June 25, 2009, following which an investigation was launched and chargesheet was submitted in the special court.