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Guwahati: The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) of Assam has arrested a key suspect in connection with the massive fund misappropriation case at the Assam Fisheries Development Corporation Ltd (AFDCL).

The accused, Padma Kanta Hazarika, who previously served as the Officer on Special Duty (OSD)-cum-Project Director of the corporation, was apprehended in the coastal city of Puri, Odisha, on Saturday.

“Ref. ACB PS Case No. 30/2023 registered in con with misappropriation of funds of Assam Fisheries Dev. Corporation Ltd. One key accused of the case namely Padma Kanta Hazarika, the then Project Director of the AFDCL has been arrested in Puri, Odisha by @DIR_VAC_ASSAM yesterday,” the Vigilance Department said in a post on X.

Following the arrest, he was produced before a local court in Puri late last night. “…the court granted a 4 days transit remand for bringing the accused person to Guwahati,” it added.

Just days prior to Hazarika’s arrest, the anti-corruption wing conducted a sweeping multi-district operation across Guwahati, Nalbari (Belsor), Dhubri (Gauripur), and Nagaon (Raha), in connection with financial irregularities, leading to the arrest of eight government officials, including two from the Assam Civil Services (ACS) cadre.

Among those previously apprehended 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) — have also been arrested.

(With inputs from PTI)