Truck Owner Arrested in Connection with Arunachal Pradesh Accident That Killed 21 Labourers

The owner of the truck involved in the tragic road accident in Arunachal Pradesh's Anjaw district, Bhushan Kr. Yadav, also known as Bhusan Tai, has been arrested from Chapra with the assistance of Bihar Police. 

He is expected to be brought to Arunachal Pradesh following due legal procedures.

The accident occurred on the remote Hayuliang–Chaglagam road between December 8 and 9, when a truck carrying 22 labourers plunged into a deep gorge near Metengliang. The incident came to light only on December 10 due to the remoteness of the terrain and lack of communication in the area. Twenty-one labourers lost their lives, and one, Budheswar Deep, survived.

In the aftermath, two contractors, Sirajul Ahmed and Sairuddin Ali, who had taken the labourers to Arunachal Pradesh for work, were arrested. Tinsukia District Commissioner Swapneel Paul confirmed that all bodies of the deceased were recovered after a challenging rescue operation. Nine victims were from Gelapukhuri Tea Estate in Tinsukia, Assam, while the truck driver, Mangol Rai, was from Bihar.

The labourers who died in the accident were: Abhay Bhumij, Ajay Manki, Rohit Manki, Birendra Kumar, Sameer Deep, Karan Kumar, Ram Siva Sona, Arjun Kumar, Deep Guwala, Agar Tanti, Bijay Kumar, Sanjay Kumar, Rajani Nag, Ramesh Tanti @ Sunatan Nag, Pankaj Manki, Dhiren Chatriya, Rahul Kumar Chetriya, Jonash Munda, and Ashin Chawra.

District authorities have ensured that all post-mortem procedures were conducted in Arunachal Pradesh, and arrangements for last rites were made in the presence of the victims’ families. Commissioner Paul emphasized the need for a tracking mechanism to monitor the movement of labourers in tea estate areas to prevent such incidents in the future.

Following directions from Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Assam Minister and Guardian Minister of Tinsukia Bimal Borah and MLA Sanjoy Kishan were present on-site from the day the tragedy came to light. Borah highlighted the difficulties faced during the recovery operation, including the steep 800-feet gorge, and stressed the importance of creating local employment opportunities to reduce the need for workers to travel to hazardous work sites.

The incident has raised questions regarding contractor accountability, vehicle safety, and the unregulated movement of migrant labourers across state borders. Authorities have indicated that further investigations and interrogations are underway to ensure accountability.

The tragic accident has brought attention to systemic gaps in labour safety, inter-state coordination, and oversight of contractor operations, underscoring the need for policy and procedural reforms to prevent such disasters in the future.

Also Read: When Labour Travels Untracked, Death Follows: Lessons from the Arunachal Tragedy