Shillong, Apr 5: The National People’s Party (NPP) has rejected media reports that tried to link the recovery of cash on April 4 in Longding district of Arunachal Pradesh to the party.
According to reports, Longding police in Arunachal Pradesh seized an amount of Rs 1 crore from a car which was travelling behind the convoy of Meghalaya Chief Minister and NPP national president Conrad Sangma at Kanubari in Longding district.
“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,” NPP spokesperson Himalaya Shangpliang stated in a press statement.
Shangpliang stated that the vehicle in question was not a part of the convoy, which was certified officially by the SP of Longding area.
The NPP spokesperson also said that the Chief Minister’s convoy, including the vehicles carrying the National President, underwent standard security checks as per the protocols established during the election code of conduct and no irregularities were detected during these procedures.
He also said that during the checking of vehicles at Kanubari check gate by election officials and police, the party vehicles were thoroughly checked including that of Sangma and the team accompanying him and nothing was found.
As per news reports, the cash, discovered within the vehicle bearing registration number AS-01-ET-5252, was attributed to one Harshvardhan Singh. Singh, is the Executive Director of Badri Rai & Construction Ltd.
Badri Rai is an Assam based construction firm which has been awarded the construction of the Assembly building project at Mawdiangdiang.
Sangma had arrived in Dibrugarh on Thursday on a four-day visit to various parts of Arunachal Pradesh including Longding, and Tezu to campaign for the NPP ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and simultaneous Assembly polls there.
