Authorities have reinforced security in Pasighat following violence associated with protests against the proposed Siang Upper Multipurpose Project in Arunachal Pradesh. Police said on October 25 that six cases had been registered and that investigations were continuing into arson, damage to property and attacks on security personnel.
Reports differ on whether all 15 people taken into police custody had formally been arrested. That distinction remains unresolved in the accounts reviewed here. What is clear is that police action and additional deployments followed the unrest on the night of October 23 and into the following morning.
Police investigate the night’s violence
Inspector General of Police Hibu Tamang said more than 40 personnel from the state police and Central Armed Police Forces had been injured. That figure is the police account of injuries, rather than an independently established total covering everyone affected.
Police have alleged that protesters attacked property including an NHPC office and residences associated with political figures. The investigation is intended to identify people responsible for particular acts. An allegation against a participant is not a finding that everyone opposed to the project took part in violence.
Local reporting also described an injured protester. A comprehensive, independently reconciled casualty list was not available in the material reviewed. The absence of such a list makes it important to keep the source and scope of each injury figure clear.
Additional forces and restrictions
Officials said about 250 Rapid Action Force personnel were being sent to the area. The deployment involved two companies of the specialised Central Reserve Police Force unit, which handles public-order situations. Reports said the personnel were to be airlifted from Navi Mumbai.
The East Siang administration imposed restrictions on gatherings and processions in Pasighat, Mebo and Ruksin from the evening of October 24. The order was reported as continuing until withdrawn or changed. Residents need to check the current local order rather than assume the restrictions have ended automatically.
Police said NHPC staff in Pasighat were safe and had been provided security. The administration and police also appealed for calm as efforts continued to establish the sequence of events and identify those involved.
The project behind the dispute
The demonstrations concern the proposed 11,200-megawatt Siang Upper Multipurpose Project. Opposition to a large infrastructure proposal and an investigation into violence are related developments, but they raise different questions. The former concerns the project’s consequences and public consent; the latter concerns responsibility for specific acts.
