Sixty-nine individuals have been arrested, four detained, and 55 cases filed under the Arunachal Pradesh Unlawful Activities Prevention Act after protests against a proposed dam turned violent in Pasighat.
Sixty-nine persons have been arrested and four detained for their alleged role in the violence that broke out on Friday in Arunachal Pradesh’s Pasighat during a protest against a proposed dam. The arrests and detentions were made in Upper Siang, Siang, and East Siang districts under the Arunachal Pradesh Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. Those arrested face charges of rioting, torching of vehicles, as well as vandalism of office buildings and residential houses.
On Friday, protesters vandalised and set fire to an office of the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation and a police station in Pasighat after security personnel fired tear gas during the agitation. According to Inspector General of Police Hibu Tamang, the police had filed 55 cases in connection with the violence.
An Itanagar-based senior police officer had earlier told Scroll that the homes of Pasighat West MLA Ninong Ering and Mariyang-Geku legislator Oni Panyang, along with Kaling Moyong, the Bharatiya Janata Party state chief and former Pasighat East MLA, were also vandalised during the protests.
Residents of the Siang Valley allege that the BJP government in the state has taken extraordinary measures in the last month to shut down the protests against the proposed dam project. The government has detained activists, arrested protesters, and flooded the villages in Upper Siang with paramilitary personnel, turning villages into ‘military zones’.
Since 2025 , at least 40 first information reports have been filed in connection with protests against the dam.
Source:
Scroll.in
