Key fisheries scam accused held in Odisha

Guwahati: One of the key accused in the alleged financial irregularities at the Assam Fisheries Development Corporation Ltd was arrested in Odisha, marking it the ninth arrest in the case, officials said on Sunday.

In a statement, the directorate of vigilance and anti-corruption said the accused, Padma Kanta Hazarika, was arrested in Puri, Odisha, on Saturday and produced before a local court there. Raids were also conducted at his apartments. He would be brought to Guwahati on a transit remand, the statement read.

The accused was the former project director of the corporation. The case alleging financial irregularities was registered in 2023, and the alleged misappropriation of funds took place between 2021 and 23.

The directorate said raids were also conducted at three apartments belonging to Hazarika in Guwahati’s Hatigaon area on Saturday.

“A large number of incriminating documents, five seals of different organisations or councils and a note-counting machine, among other items, were seized in connection with the case,” the statement read.

Last week, at least eight govt officials, including two from the Assam Civil Services (ACS) cadre, were arrested in connection with the same case, the vigilance department said on Tuesday.

The directorate had said the arrests were made from multiple locations, including Guwahati, Belsor in Nalbari, Gauripur in Dhubri and Raha in Nagaon.

Among those previously arrested are ACS officers Anuradha Adhikary Sarma and Naren Chandra Basumatary, both former managing directors of the AFDCL; and two former executive engineers of the AFDCL -- Jyotish Saikia and Birinchi Adhikary.

Other AFDCL employees -- Jyoti Prasad Saikia (then assistant executive engineer), Saburuddin Ahmed (then assistant engineer), Bhogirath Das (then project manager) and Rabindra Narayan Deka (then assistant technical officer) -- were also arrested.