Breaking News: First arrest in connection with Bethukandi embankment damage; Kabul Khan in custody 

What comes in as a massive development in the investigation to decode the chain of affairs that led to damage of the embankment in Bethukandi, one local resident has been arrested by the Police.

Cachar Police sources confirmed that a man identified as Kabul Khan who is a local resident has been arrested last night from his residence. SP Cachar Police, Ramandeep Kaur has also confirmed that Kabul Khan has been arrested.

Yesterday, Chief Minister of Assam, Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma was showing a video to the locals in Bethukandi area. The video featured visuals of water entering through the embankment with a commentary on the background. He wanted to know the identity of the voice on the backdrop. If sources are to believed that Kabul Khan filmed the video and so, he has been arrested based on substantial circumstantial evidence.

It is worth mentioning here that the embankment at Bethukandi was breached by locals as they had cut a large chunk of land holding the river water. The locals, tired of pleading for a sluice gate decided to cut the embankment for water to recede from their respective residences. More than thousand remain under water as there is no gate to drain the water back to the river. In the month of May, the portion of the land was cut and on June 19, due to the rise in water level of river, Barak started to flood the residential areas inundating thousands of homes in urban and rural Silchar.

It is worth mentioning here that though the breach in embankment was brought to the notice of the administration in the month of May itself, there was very little done to actually address the problem. In fact, only on June 19, the Cachar district administration issued an advisory asking people to shift to highland areas as “some miscreants” have damaged the embankment in Betukandi and so, water is flooding into the town. It is also being stated by several political leaders that a “neta” from the ruling party has instructed the locals to cut away a portion of land.

Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma has already announced that a case has been registered in Guwahati and the CID will investigate the matter. What remains to be seen is if the CID investigates the involvement of political leaders as well.