1 arrested in Trans-Arunachal Highway land scam

The Special Investigation Cell (SIC) of Arunachal Pradesh Police, probing the multi-crore Trans-Arunachal Highway (TAH) land compensation scam, has arrested a former bank manager in Lower Subansiri district for allegedly siphoning off government funds, police said.

The SIC team arrested the former bank manager Tage Tania from Jorhat in Assam on Tuesday, SIC SP M Harsha Vardhan said.

Tania is alleged to have acted in conspiracy with some government officials to aid in siphoning off government money to have been given as compensation for land acquisition, the SIC SP said.

A local court gave police seven days' custody of Tania.

The TAH is an ambitious two-lane highway project covering 1,703 km from Tawang in the north-west to Kanubari in the east. The project, which entails another 848 km as link roads to major towns off the alignment, was conceived in 2008.

This is the seventh arrest that was made in the district since 2018 in connection with the scam, the SIC SP said.

Three persons had been arrested this year for their alleged involvement in siphoning off Rs 198 crore provided by the Centre as compensation to land owners displaced for the Potin-Bapi stretch of the TAH.

Three others had been arrested in 2018 for their alleged involvement in siphoning off a major chunk of Rs 40 crore to have been given as compensation for land acquired for the Joram-Koloriang stretch of the highway.

The All Nyishi Students Union (ANSU), All Lower Subansiri District Students' Union (ALSDSU) and Land Affected Justice Forum (LAJF) have alleged massive discrepancies in awarding compensation to displaced land owners.