The law and order situation in Arunachal Pradesh capital Itanagar worsened on February 24 with a mob burning down Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein’s multi-storey private residence.
State Environment and Forests Minister Nabam Rebia’s shopping complex at Naharlagun town, about 15 km from Itanagar, has also been set on fire.
Separate groups of people also advanced toward Chief Minister Pema Khandu’s private residence apart from vandalising the city’s main police station and the office of the deputy commissioner. Army and paramilitary personnel, called to restore normality, were pelted with stones too.
Violence in Itanagar, triggered by the government’s move to provide permanent resident certificates (PRC) to six non-tribal communities living in the Frontier State for decades, appeared to have subsided after Mr. Khandu announced on February 22 night that the PRC issue would not be discussed during the ongoing Assembly session.
On February 23, the city administration clamped prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC and sought the help of the Army that conducted a flag-march. But irate locals defied the restrictions to gather in large groups after a man who had allegedly sustained bullet injuries on Friday night died in a Guwahati hospital on Sunday.
Mob violence in Itanagar
Another man from Kimin area in Papum Pare district had died Friday night due to firing when a mob stormed the State Secretariat. It could not be confirmed if the man was killed in police firing or by “miscreants”.
10 ITBP companies dispatched
As many as 1,000 paramilitary troops have been dispatched to the State.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has dispatched 10 additional companies of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) for deployment in law-and-order duties in Itanagar and other violence-hit places, an official said.
The State government will deploy the troops as per the requirement of the local administration. Five ITBP companies have already been deployed in the state, the official said. A company of paramilitary comprises 100 personnel.
The ITBP personnel have been sent on an urgent basis as Itanagar and other areas have witnessed widespread violence, destruction of properties and vehicles on February 24.
Police station destroyed
Capital Complex (covering the twin cities of Itanagar and Naharlagun) Superintendent of Police M. Harsha Vardhan did not take calls. An officer manning the Itanagar Police Station in the city’s Bank Tiniali area said they were outnumbered by the mob that destroyed the police station and seized their batons, helmets, shields and other equipment.
“The mob then attacked the private residence of the Deputy CM in the VIP area and set it on fire, smashing or pushing downhill the vehicles parked on the way. The people also damaged the DC’s office,” a police inspector said.
At the time of reporting, another mob advanced towards the private residence of Mr. Khandu near the Circuit House.
Burnt vehicle in Itanagar
While the action shifted to the VIP areas, a mob demanding the resignation of Mr. Khandu and Mr. Mein placed the body of the man killed in firing at the Indira Gandhi Park where the venue of the first Itanagar International Film Festival was destroyed. “The body will be buried at the BJP office near the park,” a member of the mob said.
Shopping complex burnt down
Mob violence spread to Naharlagun, which along with Itanagar, is the State's Capital Complex, with a shopping complex owned by Environment and Forest Minister Nabam Rebia burnt down. Mr. Rebia headed the joint high power committee that recommends granting PRC to six non-tribal communities in the State.
Political leaders in Arunachal Pradesh said the violence had a pattern similar to that in October 2011 forcing Jarbom Gamlin to resign as Chief Minister after a six-month rule.
Burnt vehicles in Itanagar
