Manipur University employees, contractor allegedly embezzle Rs. 74 lakh

A massive financial scandal has emerged at Manipur University, with employees and a contractor accused of embezzling Rs. 74 lakh intended for the purchase of furniture. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached properties of the accused, signaling a decisive crackdown on corruption at the institution, according to a report by national daily Amar Ujala.
The ED’s Imphal sub-regional office said the investigation was launched under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, following an FIR registered by the CBI through the Imphal Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB). The probe revealed that university officials, in collusion with the contractor, deliberately caused a loss of Rs. 74,01,978. Shockingly, the furniture for which payment was made was never supplied, yet the money was siphoned off, directly benefiting the accused at the cost of the university.
According to Amar Ujala, the ED has provisionally attached three immovable properties valued at around Rs. 71 lakh. These include a residential property in the name of Konsam Ongbi Satyabati, wife of Konsam Jeevan Kumar Singh, the then Finance Officer of Manipur University, valued at Rs. 23.95 lakh. The remaining two properties are agricultural lands in Imphal owned by contractor L. Rameshwar Meetei—now an MLA from Keirao Assembly constituency—and his firm M/s Laurembam Enterprises, worth Rs. 48 lakh.
The investigation revealed that senior university officials, including Basant Singh, K. Jeeban Kumar, N. Tejendra Singh, and former Vice-Chancellor HNK Sarma, allegedly conspired with Rameshwar to defraud the university. By abusing their official positions, they reportedly gave undue advantage to the contractor in awarding tenders for furniture supplied to the International Guest House of the university.
The ED further discovered attempts to cover up the misappropriation by falsely claiming that the furniture had been destroyed in a fire at the university’s recreation hall. Tenders were reportedly awarded in violation of Rule 148 of the General Financial Rules (GFR) without following proper procedures, the report said.
The contractor, according to the ED, raised bills totaling Rs. 64,36,502 and also claimed an installation fee of Rs. 9,65,476, despite not delivering the furniture. In total, Rs. 74,01,978 was illegally paid out, which has now been classified as proceeds of crime under the PMLA.