Aizwal, July 18: The Mizoram government has filed a defamation case against a Congress legislator for accusing the government of paying ransom to rebels for release of abducted persons. The public prosecutor filed the case in the court of additional district magistrate (judicial) yesterday against Congress MLA R. Lalzirliana for making allegations of paying ransom to rebels against the government.
The legislator was charged under Section 501 of the Indian Penal Code and the hearing was fixed for August 22.
Earlier, Lalzirliana told newspersons that he had evidences including the number of currency notes that the Mizo National Front (MNF) government paid as ransom for the release of Neepco personnel abducted by Manipur's Hmar People's Convention-Democrats (HPC-D) militants in 1999. The state government denied that it ever paid ransom for the release of those abducted by insurgents.
"The government cannot pay ransom and if it pays it would be very easy to find out from the government accounts," a senior home department official said.
The official said Lalzirliana was himself encouraging abduction and other forms of terrorist acts by accusing the government of paying ransom. He denied the state government submitted an application to the assembly speaker for permission of Congress MLA's arrest as alleged by the state PCC.
The state PCC today convened a meeting to deliberate on the future course of action in the event of 'arrest' of its legislator. Bureau Report