Arunachal: BRO to probe into Kimin controversy, says home minister Bamang Felix
ITANAGAR: The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) will initiate an inquiry into the Kimin controversy and transfer officials from its office there to ensure a fair investigation, Said a PTI report on Monday quoted Arunachal Pradesh Home Minister Bamang Felix.
Kimin, an area in Papumpare district of the state, was passed off as Bilgarh in Assam and signboards were partially whitewashed to eliminate the mention of Arunachal Pradesh on them during a BRO’s programme attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh there last month.
Several organisations of Arunachal Pradesh have protested against the incident.
Addressing a press conference at Civil Secretariat here, Felix said that he held a meeting with BRO Director General Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhary during the day on the matter and the officer expressed regret over the issue.
“The BRO will initiate an inquiry into the fiasco and it will be completed at the earliest. Based on the findings of the inquiry, appropriate action will be taken,” the home minister said.
In order to ensure a fair probe, BRO officers posted at Kimin would be transferred to other locations and three of them have already been shifted, he said.
During the meeting, state Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar briefed the BRO DG on the findings of a High-Level Committee headed by the Home Minister and a Fact-Finding Committee of Arunachal Indigenous Tribe Forum on the issue, sources said.
Both the panels in their findings held the BRO officials responsible for the fiasco.
The incident occurred on June 17 when the defence minister inaugurated 12 strategic roads developed by the BRO and 10 of them are in Arunachal Pradesh.
Among others, the programme at Kimin was attended by Chief Minister Pema Khandu, his Assam counterpart Himanta Biswa Sarma and Union minister Kiren Rijiju, who represents the Arunachal West parliamentary constituency.
Four opposition parties of Arunachal Pradesh, including the Congress, had written to President Ram Nath Kovind last week seeking his intervention in resolving the boundary dispute between the state and Assam after the controversy.
BRO Additional Director General (East) P K H Singh on June 26 apologised to the people of Arunachal Pradesh and said that the error was unintentional.
