The Dimapur Sub-Zonal Office of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a prosecution complaint, or chargesheet, before the Special PMLA Court in Dimapur in connection with the alleged misuse of public funds and substandard construction of the Gauhati High Court’s Kohima Bench complex.
The chargesheet names Avituo Sekhose, M/s Hexad Syndicate, Thepfusatuo Rio, Mhalelie Rio, and Vibeilietuo Kets, accusing them of misappropriating government funds during the execution of the high court complex project.
According to an official statement, the ED initiated its probe following an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Imphal Anti-Corruption Branch, on June 17, 2019. The CBI case was filed on the directions of the Kohima Bench of the Gauhati High Court in a suo motu public interest litigation, which took note of alleged fund diversion and poor-quality construction work at the new high court complex.
The FIR cited violations under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. It alleged that officials of the Nagaland Public Works Department (PWD), in collusion with government contractors, siphoned off public money while executing the project.
During its investigation, the ED found that PWD officials had artificially inflated the cost of constructing two retaining walls at the complex, resulting in excess payments of around ₹80.25 lakh to contractor Avituo Sekhose. The probe further revealed that costs related to the construction of roads and footpaths with chequered tiles within the complex were also exaggerated, leading to additional payments of approximately ₹29.68 lakh to M/s Hexad Syndicate and its partners.
The ED has identified the total proceeds of crime in the case at about ₹1.09 crore. As part of the investigation, the agency had earlier issued a provisional attachment order amounting to ₹96.67 lakh. The probe has also indicated the involvement of several Nagaland PWD officials, causing significant loss to the public exchequer.
