Two persons have been arrested in Assam’s Cachar district in connection with the breach of an embankment of Barak river which eventually led to a massive flood in Silchar city, an official said on Saturday.
The arrested individuals have been identified as Mithu Hussain Laskar and Kabul Khan.
Cachar Superintendent of Police, Ramandeep Kaur has confirmed the arrest.
She, however, refused to divulge the details on the role of the two in the incident.
Kaur told IANS that the police were investigating the matter.
Laskar was nabbed by the police on Saturday, while Khan was arrested on Friday night.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma earlier said that the flood was a ‘man-made’ disaster and the miscreants would face stringent action.
Khan had allegedly filmed a video of the breach which the Chief Minister had shown to the local residents when he had visited the embankment site in Cachar district.
He was seen asking the people to identify the voices in the video. Subsequently, Khan was identified.
It has been learnt that six persons were mainly responsible for the breaching of the embankment.
Sarma said: “A case has now been registered by the CID in Guwahati. The Additional Director-General of Police of CID will head the investigation into the case and a special task force will monitor the probe.”
According to reports, on May 24, a police complaint was lodged against unknown miscreants for cutting through the embankment at Bethukandi, situated about 3 km from Silchar to let the rain-accumulated water of a wetland drain into the Barak river.
Later, in June, the river water entered following heavy torrential rain and engulfed Silchar, affecting more than 1 lakh people.
