On June 15, Manipur police initiated a probe against the father of climate activist Licypriya Kangujam in connection to procurement and distribution of oxygen cylinders, reported The Print.
The child activist had launched a ₹1 crore fundraiser campaign on Ketto in early May for the procurement of oxygen concentrators for supposedly ‘poor Covid patients.’ With support from 2,710 patrons, she was able to generate ₹75.35 lacs for her ‘Oxygen Mission’. The campaign was stopped immediately after her father Dr. KK Singh was arrested on multiple counts of cheating. He was accused of defrauding people of amounts as high as ₹19 lakh.
During the probe, Manipur police found evidence of ‘possible involvement’ of Singh in his daughter’s fundraising campaign. Although the funds were raised in the name of Licypriya Kangujam, a Delhi-based NGO named Noble Citizen Foundation was involved in the purchase and distribution of oxygen cylinders and concentrators. The NGO had links with the father of the minor activist. Opindia had earlier exposed how multiple discrepancies were found in a fundraising campaign being run by Licypriya Kangujam and questionable association with Noble Citizen Foundation.
The Print reported that some of the concentrators, which were procured from funds generated from the campaign, were sent to Manipur. Aide of Dr KK Singh, Oliver Moirangthem, was found selling the equipment instead of handing them for free. Accordingly, the police registered a suo motu First Information Report (FIR) against him and booked him under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) Section 420 (cheating and dishonesty).
While speaking about the matter, a senior officer in Manipur police anonymously informed, “During our investigations, we discovered he (Singh) was privy to how the funds were being handled. We are still investigating his role fully, but it was enough to file another case against him…The NGO, too, will be questioned and their role investigated.”
Fake claims and dubious activities of Dr KK Singh
Projecting his 9-year-old daughter as the face of a national and international ‘climate activism’ campaign, Licypriya’s father Kanarjit Kangujam has reportedly duped nearly 100 children from 12 countries under the garb of activism as per a Vice report. The fraud amount is estimated to be approximately $44,685, just from fees collected from students.
In 2015, a Manipuri news outlet quoted Kangujam saying that politician and actor Arnold Schwarzenegger and now-ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi will be attending a youth conference organized by International Youth Committee, a shady organisation run by Kangujam where he portrayed his daughter as ‘India’s Greta Thurnberg’. To add to this were other claims, including a supposed nomination for Licipriya to the “Global Youth Icon Award 2015” jointly with Malala Yousafzai (Nobel Peace Prize 2014 winner) and Felix Finkbeiner (German Child Activists).
A source on the condition of anonymity informed OpIndia that Kangujam would create hoax events with well-drafted documents claiming that the UN, UNESCO and the government of India are hosting an exchange program. He would then call for participants, misusing the logos of the global entities. The proceeds of the participation fee would go into his personal account, informed the source.
Kangujam claimed to host events in Japan, Europe and Mauritius for which he collected hefty participation fees, however, the events never took place. When the volunteers called up the respective organizations and ministries to confirm the event, each one of them declined to know Kangujam or the so-called events planned by him.
