Of the 44 accused in the multi-crore public distribution system (PDS) scam in Arunachal Pradesh, 19 have been arrested so far, the Special Investigating Cell (SIC) investigating the scam said.

“In all, 19 accused including former chief minister Gegong Apang, have been arrested but 18 of them have been granted bail by the Yupia fast track court,” M S Chauhan, head of the SIC, told reporters in Itanagar on Sunday.

The bail plea of Apang would be heard by the Itanagar bench of Guwahati High Court on 6th September he said.

As most of the accused are public servants the SIC had to seek sanction from the state government, he said, adding, chargesheets have been filed against 41 accused, including few IAS officers under various sections of IPC and Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.

When asked about the magnitude of the scam, Chauhan said it could be well above Rs 1,000 crore and the involvement of politicians, bureaucrats, contractors as well as under ground elements was evident from statements of the accused.