📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Saptarshighosh
Crime
CBI registers FIR against Arunachal lawyer Bhanu Tatak over alleged foreign funding
✍️ maktoobmedia.com
🗓 18 Sep 2026, 04:46 AM
👁 10
The Central Bureau of Investigation has filed a first information report against Arunachal Pradesh lawyer Bhanu Tatak, accusing him of receiving foreign funds. Activists have condemned the move as an assault on indigenous voices.
New Delhi – The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has lodged a first information report (FIR) against Bhanu Tatak, a practising lawyer from Arunachal Pradesh, on allegations that he received financial support from foreign sources. The FIR, filed under provisions related to the receipt of foreign contributions, marks a rare intervention by the federal investigative agency in a matter involving a legal professional from the northeastern state.
According to the filing, the agency claims that Tatak’s alleged foreign funding contravenes Indian law governing foreign contributions. The CBI has not disclosed the amount involved or the identity of any foreign donor.
Several indigenous rights activists and local civil‑society groups have protested the FIR, describing it as an attempt to silence indigenous representation and dissent. They argue that the action could set a precedent that undermines the political and cultural advocacy of tribal communities in Arunachal Pradesh.
The lawyer’s counsel has declined to comment on the specifics of the case, while the CBI said the investigation is ongoing and that due process will be followed.
The development adds to a growing scrutiny of foreign funding in Indian civil society, a subject that has attracted heightened attention from law‑enforcement agencies across the country.
According to the filing, the agency claims that Tatak’s alleged foreign funding contravenes Indian law governing foreign contributions. The CBI has not disclosed the amount involved or the identity of any foreign donor.
Several indigenous rights activists and local civil‑society groups have protested the FIR, describing it as an attempt to silence indigenous representation and dissent. They argue that the action could set a precedent that undermines the political and cultural advocacy of tribal communities in Arunachal Pradesh.
The lawyer’s counsel has declined to comment on the specifics of the case, while the CBI said the investigation is ongoing and that due process will be followed.
The development adds to a growing scrutiny of foreign funding in Indian civil society, a subject that has attracted heightened attention from law‑enforcement agencies across the country.