By IANS,
Itanagar : The Arunachal Citizens’ Rights (ACR) group Friday urged the central government to recall Governor Gen (Retd) J.J. Singh for airing a wrong statement that the helicopter carrying Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Dorjee Khandu had landed safely.
“The governor has committed the gravest act of misconduct by irresponsibly airing false statements saying that all was well and the helicopter had landed safely with all the passengers onboard somewhere in Bhutan. Such grave lapses are not expected from the first citizen of the state and this needs to be addressed by the proper authority,” ACR chairperson Bamang Tago told IANS, while demanding Singh’s recall.
Khandu and four others — two pilots, a personal security officer, and the sister of the Tawang legislator — were killed in the helicopter crash Saturday. The bodies were retrieved from the crash site at Lobotang near the 13,700 feet Sela Pass in Tawang district Thursday.
Questioning the serious lapses on part of all those concerned for the safety of the chief minister, the ACR demanded that the central government constitute a high-level enquiry committee to probe into the matter.
“It’s surprising to note how such an important person was allowed to board a single- engine helicopter in a high altitude mountainous terrain like Tawang where the climate is perennially cloudy with visibility of not beyond a few hundred metres, and that too with only a single security officer to accompany him,” he said.
The rights activist also questioned why the government held the cabinet meeting after eight hours when the helicopter was reported missing at around 11.15 a.m. Saturday.
On the supposed telephonic conversation of the chief minister with Yashi Tsering, the commissioner to the chief minister, after the report that the helicopter had gone missing, Tago asked: “Was our chief minister alive and did he make that call? What happened afterwards? Was there not one accident or a series of incidents leading to the crash and the tragic death of five people?”.
He said the government should also investigate as to who was responsible for reports that Khandu’s chopper made an emergency landing in eastern Bhutan; was safe and will be touching Guwahati for refuelling on its way back to Itanagar on the same day.