Pasighat: A heavy security deployment held an uneasy calm in Pasighat on Sunday, two days after protests against a hydropower project turned violent. Two Rapid Action Force companies of the CRPF, about 250 personnel, were airlifted from Navi Mumbai on an Indian Air Force aircraft on orders of the Union Home Ministry and deployed in the East Siang district town.
The trigger is the 11,200-MW Siang Upper Multipurpose Project being built by NHPC Limited. Indigenous organisations and youth groups in the Siang belt have opposed it for weeks, fearing the reservoir will submerge villages and cut their ties to the river.
According to the police, violence broke out in Pasighat on Friday evening after a 12-hour bandh called by four organisations ended, and ran until 3.30 am on Saturday. A mob set fire to an NHPC office and a police station, ransacked the office of the Adi Bane Kebang, and attacked the residences of Pasighat West MLA Ninong Ering, Mariyang-Geku MLA Oni Panyang and state BJP president Kaling Moyong.
Inspector General of Police (Central Range) Hibu Tamang said more than 40 security personnel were injured, including a Deputy Superintendent of Police who was moved to Dibrugarh with a head injury. Nine police vehicles were damaged.
Tamang said six cases have been registered relating to the violence, arson and attacks on police and central force personnel, and at least 15 people have been arrested. More arrests are possible. "A detailed investigation is on to identify those allegedly responsible for instigating the young protesters and to determine their role," he said.
In-charge District Magistrate Jayanti Pertin said the law and order situation was under control but it was too early to assess the damage. Restrictions on public gatherings under Section 163 of the BNSS will continue in Pasighat, Mebo and Ruksin until further orders, she said.
Chief Minister Pema Khandu said the right to peaceful protest was essential to democracy but demonstrations must stay within the law and must not damage property or disrupt public order. "Misinformation and misconceptions surrounding the Siang Upper Multipurpose Project are creating apprehensions among our people. Bridging this information gap through facts, transparency and open dialogue is essential," he posted on X.
The protesters' demands include the release of arrested activists, reinstatement of suspended village headmen, a halt to all pre-feasibility work on the project, and the withdrawal of paramilitary and central forces from the Siang valley.
Organisations opposing the project — Adi Bane Kebang United, the Siang Indigenous Farmers' Forum and the SUMP Affected Area Youth Association — say the reservoir could submerge 35 villages and displace more than 1.5 lakh people. The government argues the project is a strategic counter to China's mega dam on the Yarlung Tsangpo upstream, and would help regulate floods.
At least 10 people have been arrested since October 9, four of them detained under the Arunachal Pradesh Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 2014.
Additional central forces remained in Pasighat through Sunday evening, with prohibitory orders in place.