CM mourns Changlang killing, Congress condemns

From Our Correspondent
Itagar, June 16: Aruchal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Friday conveyed his deepest condolences on the death of a person at mtok under Changlang district reportedly by security forces.
“I have been informed that in the incident one villager Thingtu Ngemu (35) of Kongsa village has lost his life while several others have been injured. This kind of incident could have been averted through proper care and planning,” Khandu, who is out of the state, said in a statement.
On behalf of the people and the government, Khandu expressed solidarity with families of the deceased and those injured and said words would be superfluous to condole and console at the moment.
“Though no measure of compensation in kind or cash would compensate the loss, the state government is duty bound to provide ex-gratia relief according to norms to the next of kin of the deceased and assistance to the injured for the best of treatment to save their lives,” he added.
Meanwhile, the chief minister spoke to the Union Home Ministry expressing concern over the incident and sought its urgent intervention.
Meanwhile, the Aruchal Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) has vehemently condemned the killing of a villager in Changlang district by Army personnel in a mistaken identity case on Wednesday night. “The deceased fall prey to the Army’s unwanted ambush due to procedural lapses. As per convention, it is mandatory for the Army to coordite with civil police before resorting to cordoning off or ambushing any civil areas to avoid any untoward happenings,” the party said in a statement here.
“The people of the state are peace-loving but any attempt to harass us physically or mentally shall not be tolerated under any circumstances. The people of Tirap and Changlang districts are sleeping giants and their endurance and tolerance should not be treated as weakness by the government and any forces whatsoever be. A citizen, that too an innocent villager cannot be murdered by Army ‘mistakenly’. This is beyond the ethic of a disciplined Indian army. Aruchal should not be equated with Jammu and Kashmir. Such provocation by Army is uncalled for and demeans its hard-earned image,” it said.
The APCC blamed the incumbent state government, especially the Home department for having failed on all fronts to contain the prevailing law and order problem and asked the government to pay an ex-gratia of Rs 5 crore and provide governmental job to the family member of the deceased. The party also conveyed its condolence to the members of the bereaved family.