[ Bengia Ajum ]
NAMSAI, Apr 26: The Namsai district deputy commissioner CR Khampa has forwarded the matter related to agriculture development officer (ADO) Tiprami Manlong to the secretary, social justice empowerment and tribal affairs (SJETA). Manlong has been alleged of using two different scheduled tribe (ST) certificates to get a job and for education purposes.
A group of ADO aspirants had lodged an FIR in this regard, and the case (Itanagar PS Case No 82/23 u/s 465/468/471/420 IPC) has been registered. The aspirants had alleged that, even though she is from Narayanpur in Lakhimpur district of Assam, she got a job under the APST category in Arunachal Pradesh.
While citing Kumari Madhuri Patil & Another-Versus-Addl. Commissioner, Tribal Development & others, (1994) 6 Supreme Court Cases 241 and several other judgments passed by High Courts of the Country, the DC noted that the caste scrutiny committee is the competent authority empowered to hold an enquiry and cancellation of social status certificate.
“This is a matter of social status certificate. As per the above mentioned order of the Supreme Court, the deputy commissioners have no authority to cancel a social status certificate. Hence, the file records are being forwarded herewith for kind perusal and further necessary in compliance of above referred order/guidelines of the Supreme Court,” the DC wrote in the letter.
Earlier this month, activist Sol Dodum along with Nari Shakti members Nimi Taba and Kipa Champa and ADO aspirants called on Namsai DC and submitted a letter, seeking cancellation of the ST certificate of Manlong.
Based on the complaint, the DC issued a show cause notice to Manlong asking as to why the APST certificate issued to her by the DC office should not be cancelled. She was asked to reply to the notice latest by 21 April. However she went to the Gauhati High Court, Itanagar Permanent Bench and got a stay against the FIR. Further proceeding against her has been stopped based on the court order.
Manlong completed her MSc in agriculture from the College of Agriculture in Jorhat, Assam. At the time of her admission, she had submitted an ST certificate which mentions her as an ST (plains) of Assam. Further, as per the permanent residence certificate (PRC) submitted by her, she is a resident of Shribhuyan village under Narayanpur PS in Lakhimpur district.
She did her BSc in agriculture and MSc in agriculture using Assam ST and PR certificates. However, she got a job as ADO in Arunachal, using an APST certificate.
