[ Bengia Ajum ]
ITANAGAR, 12 Dec: The Vigilance Department has given the nod to the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) to register the FIR lodged by the All Nyishi Youth Association’s (ANYA) East Kameng district unit regarding the alleged misappropriation of funds in the disbursement of compensation for the Lada-Sarli Frontier Highway project.
The ANYA unit had lodged a complaint on 4 November, seeking an inquiry by the ACB into the alleged multi-crore compensation scam.
According to sources, the decision to register the case was taken after the authorities duly examined the complaints submitted by the ANYA, as well as the submissions made by the ACB. The authority observed that the allegations prima facie reveal serious offences, and that a proper inquiry is required. Approval was accorded for the registration of an FIR and for conducting a full-fledged investigation under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (as amended), along with other applicable provisions of the POCA, 1988 (as amended), and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, the sources informed.
The ANYA unit, along with social activist Sol Dodum, has been alleging corruption in the disbursement of compensation for the Lada-Sarli Frontier Highway project. Recently, Dodum demanded that the inquiry be handed over to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The East Kameng Social Welfare and Cultural Organisation (EKSWCO) on its part has also constituted a three-member ‘Lada to Sarli Frontier Highway Land Compensation Issue Committee’, headed by former Arunachal Press Club president Chopa Cheda Gyadom as chairman, and with Kumar Sonam and advocates Anil Rebe and Tutu Dolo as members.
The EKSWCO stated that the committee was formed to conduct its own investigation into the allegations of corruption and irregularities in the multi-crore land compensation scam under the Lada-Sarli highway project (Packages 1 to 5).
On 12 November, the Arunachal Pradesh government suspended four officials, including divisional forest officer Abhinav Kumar, district agriculture officer Miram Perme, district horticulture officer CK Tayum, and district land revenue & settlement officer Takam Kechak, for their alleged involvement in the scam. Later, deputy commissioner Himanshu Nigam was also suspended in connection with the case.
