Staff Reporter
Itanagar, Aug 27: The Naharlagun Police has arrested three persons in connection with an alleged multi-crore cheating case involving a PMGSY road project and a fake letter purportedly showing clearance of a contractor’s pending bill.
The accused have been identified as Toluk Lombi, Dubi Ete and Rajesh Kumar Singh. The case was registered at Naharlagun Police Station as Case No. 123/2025 under Section 318(4)/35 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
According to Naharlagun Superintendent of Police Dr Nyelam Nega, the case was registered last year following a complaint by a contractor, who alleged that the accused demanded money from him on the pretext of helping release his pending bill of more than Rs 17 crore relating to a PMGSY road project.
The accused allegedly demanded Rs 2.40 crore from the contractor, claiming that the third accused had strong connections with the government at the Centre and could facilitate the release of the pending payment.
The contractor was subsequently handed a letter stating that his pending bill had been cleared. However, when he approached the office of the Chief Engineer, Rural Works Department (RWD), he allegedly discovered that the letter was fake.
“A letter was given to the victim saying the pending bill has been cleared. And when he went to the office of the Chief Engineer RWD, he realised that the letter was fake,” the SP said.
During the course of investigation, said the SP, the third accused Rajesh Kumar Singh approached the court seeking quashing of the FIR. However, the court on August 13 declined to quash the FIR, paving the way for continuation of the investigation.
Following the court’s decision, a police team travelled to Guwahati and arrested Singh on August 25. He was subsequently remanded to six days’ police custody, the SP said.
Police are continuing the investigation to ascertain the complete circumstances of the alleged fraud and the role of the accused.
The SP urged citizens, particularly contractors dealing with government projects, to remain cautious of individuals claiming to have influence or connections with government authorities and offering to facilitate payments or official work in exchange for money.
“If such people approach you, try to verify facts with the concerned department. After all, at the end of the day, it is about the hard-earned money,” Dr Nega said.