Maoists lob grenade in Manipur RIMS against graft

Imphal, April 3  Maoist insurgents on Sunday said they lobbed a grenade at the residence of a medical college professor here to express their disgust with "rampant corruption" in the institute.

The attack on Friday night on the residence of M. Amuba Singh, professor in the department of biochemistry and medical superintendent at the central government-run Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) here, resulted only in some damage to the parked vehicles.

The professor's residence on the campus of RIMS, which is a medical college-cum hospital, is guarded by armed paramilitary personnel. 

"There had been corruption in the appointment of nurses. There was also question paper leakage. Though an inquiry committee was instituted, the finding was not made public," said the Maoist Communist Party in a statement, claiming responsibility for the attack.

It blamed RIMS' director S. Rita Devi, deputy director Y. Rajendra Singh and Amuba Singh for the alleged corrupt practices in the instititute. 

The Maoists said it was against "rampant corruption" in the RIMS and that its grenade attack should not be seen as an extortion bid.

RIMS sources, however, said the inquiry committee had established that there was nothing wrong in the appointment of the nurses. These new nurses have joined duty. 

The employees, including director Rita Devi, on Saturday staged a sit-in protest against the grenade attack in the hospital premises. 

"A fear psychosis should not be created among the patients," Rita Devi said.

The institute did get linked with a corruption scandal in 2014 when the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered cases against some top administrators for irregularities in procurement of dental chairs.

Following the scandal, S. Sekharjit Singh was relieved of his directorship, and was replaced by Rita Devi. 

Given the Maoists' resolve to "purge" the RIMS of the alleged corrupt practices, police told IANS that security measures have been beefed up. 

The government is preparing to strengthen the security detail of the director, the medical superintendent and the administrative block.