Renowned RTI activist from Dibang Valley district and Assam Rifles rifleman Rakhini Mipi was found dead under mysterious circumstances at Hunli in Arunachal Pradesh’s Lower Dibang Valley district.
According to Hunli Police Station Officer-in-Charge Inspector Mohon Mili, Mipi’s body was discovered hanging inside the bathroom of an Army transit camp near the Circuit House in Hunli. He was reportedly on his way to Anini with his unit, the 24th Assam Rifles, to participate in an Armed Forces warfare exercise. The unit had reached Hunli on October 3 and was scheduled to proceed to Anini the following morning.
Superintendent of Police Ringu Ngupok said a case of unnatural death has been registered and an investigation is underway. The body was taken to Roing for post-mortem examination and later handed over to family members after necessary formalities.
Police have not ruled out the possibility of foul play. However, officials said that any investigation into such an angle would proceed after recording statements from the deceased’s family members, which has not yet been done.
Apart from serving in the armed forces, Mipi was widely known for his activism under the Right to Information Act. He had exposed alleged irregularities in several development projects, including Jal Jeevan Mission schemes in the Dibang Valley region.
He was also a vocal critic of the proposed Siang Upper Multipurpose Project and had questioned attempts to conduct pre-feasibility studies despite opposition from local communities. In August, he raised concerns over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process in Dibang Valley, alleging the inclusion of a significant number of non-APST individuals and warning of possible electoral manipulation.
Mipi had also filed a petition before the National Green Tribunal’s Kolkata bench against NHIDCL and contractors working on National Highway 313, alleging environmental violations during project implementation.
