United Democratic Front (UDF), an electoral alliance of the eight opposition parties in Mizoram, today submitted an FIR in Aizawl police station demanding detailed investigations into allegations against Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla.
The UDF, in the FIR, mentioned three points of allegations against Lal Thanhawla including the one leveled by K. Chhawnthuama, a Presbyterian church elder, now in judicial custody.
Chhawnthuama, in a recent telecast interview, accused the chief minister of spending Rs 1,080 lakh for bribing 28 people to rig electronic voting machine (EVM) during the election to the 40-member Mizoram assembly polls held on November 25, 2013.
Chhawnthuama was earlier arrested and released on bail on December 20 for allegedly sending offensive and defamatory sms to the chief minister accusing him of indulging in electoral malpractice and retaining power by rigging EVMs.
Another accusation against the chief minister was from R. Lalmuanhlua, a close aide of Chhawnthuama, who, in a taped interview uploaded on Youtube, also alleged that the militants who ambushed and gunned down four India Reserve Police personnel and injured three cops on September two, 2008 were harbored by Lal Thanhawla in his residence at Zarkawt in Aizawl.
Lalmuanhlua also alleged that Lal Thanhawla used a militant group called Zoram Revolutionary Front (ZRF) to intimidate the general public and indulge in criminal activities like abduction and violence in 2008, before the state assembly polls.
The UDF asked the Police to find out the truth about the allegations made by the two persons and take appropriate action.
In a press conference held after submission of the FIR, former chief minister and opposition Mizo National Front (MNF) chief Zoramthanga said that the allegations against the chief minister were extremely serious and must be investigated.
Former Lok Sabha member and Zoram Nationalist Party (ZNP) President Lalduhawma also said that the UDF would continue its endeavour to find out the truth and might approach the higher courts and employ the services of the CBI if the state police would not be able to undertake unbiased investigations.
Meanwhile, Lalmuanhlua was arrested by the police at Thakthing locality last night while Chhawnthuama and another person were arrested recently from a hotel in Guwahati.
The chief minister could not be contacted as he was on his way to south Mizoram's Lunglei district.
