Ukhrul, October 27: Arunachal Pradesh IAS officer Talo Potom, named in a note left behind by a deceased teen alleging “sexual harassment” was arrested early Monday morning October 25, after he surrendered to the Police.
Potom, currently posted as Secretary in the Public Works Department in Delhi, is a promotee IAS officer from the Arunachal Pradesh Civil Services. He surrendered before the Arunachal Pradesh Police early Monday morning after a lookout notice was issued against him.
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Confirming the arrest, Naharlagun Superintendent of Police Nyelam Nega said that Mr. Potom will be produced before a magistrate.
The case pertains to the death of 19-year-old Gomchu Yekar, whose body was discovered at his rented accommodation in Lekhi village, Papum Pare district, around 11 am on October 23. The police initially registered an unnatural death case after Yekar’s father filed an FIR.
According to the FIR, multiple handwritten notes recovered from the deceased’s residence accused Potom and Likwang Lowang, an Executive Engineer in the State’s Rural Works Department, of sexual exploitation, harassment, and intimidation over an extended period, which allegedly drove the teen to take his life.
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Hours after his name surfaced in connection with the case, Lowang died by suicide at his residence in Khonsa, Tirap district, on the same day, October 23.
Following the allegations, Potom went missing, prompting the police to issue a lookout notice. He was named as the prime accused in an FIR registered by the Nirjuli Police under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, including abetment of suicide, sexual exploitation, mental harassment, and corruption.
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Before surrendering, the IAS officer released a video statement denying all allegations, claiming he had “no personal relations” with the deceased. Potom appointed Yekar as a contractual multi-tasking staff member during his tenure as Deputy Commissioner of Itanagar.