The investigation into the alleged financial irregularities within the Assam Fisheries Development Corporation Limited (AFDCL) has intensified with the arrest of a former senior official from Odisha, taking the total number of arrests in the case to nine.
Officials of Assam’s Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) on Saturday arrested Padma Kanta Hazarika, former Project Director of AFDCL, from Puri in Odisha. Authorities said he was subsequently produced before a local court, which granted a four-day transit remand, allowing investigators to bring him to Guwahati for further interrogation and legal proceedings.
The arrest marks the latest development in the ongoing probe into the alleged diversion and misuse of funds within the state-run fisheries corporation.
The case is being investigated under ACB Police Station Case No. 30/2023, which pertains to suspected financial misconduct and administrative irregularities that allegedly resulted in significant losses to the corporation.
Earlier this week, vigilance officials arrested eight government employees and former corporation officials from various locations across Assam, including Guwahati, Nalbari, Dhubri, and Nagaon.
Among those arrested were Assam Civil Service officers Anuradha Adhikary Sarma and Naren Chandra Basumatary, both of whom had previously served as Managing Directors of AFDCL.
Other accused in the case include former executive engineers Jyotish Saikia and Birinchi Adhikary, along with corporation officials Jyoti Prasad Saikia, Saburuddin Ahmed, Bhogirath Das, and Rabindra Narayan Deka.
Investigators suspect that several officials were involved in financial irregularities linked to the execution of projects and utilisation of funds within the corporation. Authorities are currently examining financial records, administrative approvals, and project-related documents to establish the extent of the alleged wrongdoing.
Sources within the investigation said additional arrests cannot be ruled out as the probe progresses. Vigilance officials are also scrutinising financial transactions and decision-making processes during the tenure of the accused officials.
The AFDCL case has emerged as one of the most significant anti-corruption investigations involving a state-run corporation in Assam in recent years, with authorities indicating that the inquiry remains active and further developments are expected in the coming days.