Archive · 15 Sep 2026
CBI Books Arunachal Activist Over Alleged Foreign Funding
The CBI has accused lawyer and environmental activist Bhanu Tatak of receiving foreign money improperly.
The agency says she received more than Rs 17.6 lakh between 2022 and 2025.
It alleges that the money came from several organisations and people outside India.
Investigators say the money was deposited into her personal bank account without required permission.
They also claim it was used to support protests against large dam projects.
Tatak works with groups opposing projects on the Siang and Dibang rivers.
She did not comment on the latest case when contacted.
She has previously said that official actions against her unfairly restrict her rights.
The Central Bureau of Investigation booked Arunachal Pradesh activist and lawyer Bhanu Tatak under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act.
The CBI alleges Tatak received more than Rs 17.6 lakh from foreign organisations and individuals between 2022 and 2025.
Investigators allege the money entered her personal savings account without mandatory registration certification and was not reflected in official records.
The agency claims the funds supported protests against proposed hydropower projects on the Siang and Dibang rivers.
Tatak, who did not comment on the CBI case, has previously called government action against her an abuse of administrative power.
- Who
- The Central Bureau of Investigation has booked lawyer and environmental activist Bhanu Tatak, who works with the Siang Indigenous Farmers’ Forum and Dibang Resistance.
- What
- The CBI alleges that Tatak unlawfully received more than Rs 17.6 lakh in foreign contributions and used the funds to support anti-dam protests.
- When
- The alleged foreign funding was received between 2022 and 2025; the case was reported after the CBI filed a first information report.
- Where
- The allegations concern funds received in India and protests in Arunachal Pradesh involving projects on the Siang and Dibang rivers.
- Why
- The CBI alleges the funds were received without mandatory Foreign Contribution Regulation Act certification and affected the country’s economic and strategic interests.
Activist and Indigenous-Group Position
CBI Allegations and Project Concerns
Foreign funding
Activist and Indigenous-Group Position
Tatak and the organisations she advises have not provided a response to the latest allegations in the article; the groups have been campaigning against the proposed dam projects.
CBI Allegations and Project Concerns
The CBI alleges that Tatak received more than Rs 17.6 lakh from foreign organisations and individuals without the required Foreign Contribution Regulation Act certification.
Use of the money
Activist and Indigenous-Group Position
The Siang Indigenous Farmers’ Forum says the Siang project poses an existential threat to the indigenous Adi community, while Dibang Resistance opposes the Dibang project.
CBI Allegations and Project Concerns
The CBI claims the foreign funds were used to organise and sustain anti-dam protests, which it says adversely affected India’s economic and strategic interests.
Government action
Activist and Indigenous-Group Position
Tatak previously described a travel restriction imposed on her as an arbitrary abuse of administrative power and said such actions risk undermining constitutional rights.
CBI Allegations and Project Concerns
The CBI has filed a case, while Arunachal Pradesh Police had earlier issued a lookout circular that stopped Tatak from boarding a flight to Ireland.
- Accused
- Bhanu Tatak, an Arunachal Pradesh-based lawyer and environmental activist
- Investigating agency
- Central Bureau of Investigation
- Alleged amount
- More than Rs 17.6 lakh
- Relevant law
- Foreign Contribution Regulation Act
- Alleged funding period
- 2022 to 2025
- Foreign sources named
- Asia Indigenous Peoples Network on Extractive Industries and Energy, Indigenous Peoples Rights International, Front Line, and Human Rights Resource Centre
- Projects opposed
- The proposed 12,500-megawatt Siang Multipurpose Project and a 2,880-megawatt project on the Dibang river