Itanagar, July 27 (PTI): The high-profile kidnapping of Getem Apang, son of former Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Gegong Apang, close on the heels of the murder of two sisters here last month has made the administration in this generally peaceful state sit up.

Crime has never been much of a problem in Arunachal Pradesh exemplified best by the fact that jails are coming up in the state only now.

Crimes, if any, hardly found space in the media before, but the scenario suddenly changed after the kidnapping of Apang’s son and murder of two Monpa girls at Kalaktang in West Kameng district last month.

To respond to the new reality, deputy commissioner Bidol Tayeng said three additional police checkpoints have been set up in vulnerable areas in Itanagar as the first measure. Abductors use this corridor to smuggle their hostages to Assam through Bodo-dominated areas.

Executive orders have also been issued to regulate the timing of business in wine shops so that they do not remain open beyond the permissible hours.

Night patrolling has also started mostly by magistrates. It has already led to the numerous arrests from the streets, restaurants and liquor joints.

Seven wine shops have been closed down and showcaused for violating rules.

An official release said information leading to the arrest of criminals involved in murder, kidnap and rape would fetch one Rs 10,000. For crimes like burglary, theft and dacoity, the informers would get Rs 3,000 for each case.

Besides having no jail, Arunachal Pradesh is the only state where the judiciary has not yet been separated from the executive. The deputy commissioners play the dual role of heading district administration and district and session courts.

Interestingly, construction of the first jail was completed here in 2005 but it was lying non-functional since then.

According to deputy inspector-general (prisons), C. Mishra, by October, the central jail here with a capacity to accommodate 50 inmates would be put into use and 52 prisoners from the state, currently lodged in Lakhimpur Jail in Assam, would be shifted.

Another jail in Tezu in Lohit district and five sub-jails in Longding (Tirap), Passiohat, Aalo, Yingkiong and Koloriang have been constructed. Construction of two more sub-jails at Khonsa (Tirap) and Changlang are to be completed.

Once they become operational, around 300 undertrials at different police lock-ups in the state would be put up in these jails.

There have been strong protests from various NGOs against the practice of keeping undertrials in police lock-ups in inhuman condition for a long period as the state does not have any functioning jail.

Tayeng said the separation of the judiciary from the executive would be effected once the state government recruited staff for the new court at Yupia here.

The PWD has already constructed the court building and it will be handed over to the state government within a fortnight.