A badge and a pension don’t buy you immunity. Not in Arunachal Pradesh, at least not anymore.
The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) of Arunachal Pradesh arrested Chukhu Loma, a retired Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), on September 13, in connection with an alleged misappropriation of Rs 31.93 crore in government funds — money meant for public use that allegedly ended up flowing in all the wrong directions.
The case — registered as Case No. 09/2025 — revolves around alleged financial irregularities that took place during Loma’s tenure as DFO of the Banderdewa Forest Division. According to the ACB, the core of the scandal lies in how government payments were disbursed to private individuals under his watch. That’s a red flag big enough to see from the other side of the Himalayas.
The bureau alleged that Loma, working alongside other public servants, was involved in a chain of transactions that led to forgery, criminal misappropriation of government funds, and a trail of financial irregularities that investigators are still piecing together. Retirement, it turned out, was no shield.
What made things even more dramatic — Loma reportedly complained of chest pain and physical discomfort shortly after his arrest. He was taken for a medical examination, per the ACB’s statement. Whether that was a genuine health scare or just the weight of consequences catching up, one can only guess.
The ACB has made it clear that Loma is not the only name in their crosshairs. Investigations into the roles of other public servants allegedly linked to the case are actively underway. That’s the kind of sentence that should make a few people lose sleep tonight — the kind who signed off on documents they perhaps should never have touched.
Banderdewa, a small but strategically important town on the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border, is no stranger to administrative activity. That a forest division there allegedly became the site of a scam running close to 32 crore rupees speaks to the deep-rooted nature of corruption that anti-graft agencies across the Northeast continue to battle.
To their credit, the ACB didn’t mince words. The bureau reiterated its firm commitment to going after corruption regardless of a suspect’s rank, position, or retired status. The message from their end is sharp and deliberate — no one’s past service record is a get-out-of-jail card.
Cases like these put a spotlight on the importance of financial oversight in government departments, particularly in states where oversight mechanisms have historically struggled to keep pace with the pace of fund allocation and utilisation. Crores earmarked for development, for forests, for communities — gone, allegedly, into a system that treated public money like personal property.
The investigation is ongoing. More names may surface, more arrests could follow. And if the ACB’s track record over the past year is anything to go by, they aren’t in any mood to let this one slide quietly.
For the people of Arunachal Pradesh, this arrest is either a reassurance or a reminder — a reminder that public funds belong to the public, and those entrusted with managing them will eventually have to answer. One way or another.
