Indefinite blockade along border of Assam-Arunachal temporarily suspended

OUR CORRESPONDENT

ITANAGAR: The indefinite blockade along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border, announced by several Mising community organisations, has been temporarily suspended following an interaction between Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu and his Assam counterpart Himanta Biswa Sarma, officials said on Tuesday.

The suspension comes in the wake of prompt assurances from both state governments and police authorities regarding justice in the alleged killings of two Assam youths in Arunachal Pradesh. A joint meeting with all stakeholder organisations is expected to be convened within the next three days, officials confirmed.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Takam Mising Porin Kebang (TMPK), which spearheaded the protest alongside the Mising Mimag Kebang (MMK) and Takam Mising Mime Kebang (TMMK), expressed gratitude to both chief ministers and the Assam chief secretary for their intervention and response to a memorandum seeking justice in the deaths of 22-year-old Prabash Doley and 29-year-old Shankar Pegu.

Earlier in the day, seven arterial roads connecting Assam and Arunachal Pradesh were blocked as part of the agitation, which was called off following the assurance of action from both state administrations.

Arunachal Pradesh Inspector General of Police (IGP) Chukhu Apa said swift legal action has been initiated in both cases and urged the public to maintain peace and refrain from taking the law into their own hands.

Doley, a labourer from Misamora village in Assam's Dhemaji district, was allegedly killed in Chimpu, Itanagar on June 18 following a dispute.

The accused, Tai John, has been arrested and charged under Section 103(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Blood-stained weapons and clothing have been recovered, and the police await forensic results to file the chargesheet.

In the second incident, Shankar Pegu, a labourer from Borajuli in Biswanath district, was allegedly shot by his employer, Tadar Bhai, in Roing in Arunachal Pradesh’s Lower Dibang Valley district on July 13.

Though the accused drove the victim to the Tomo Riba Institute of Health and Medical Sciences in Naharlagun, Pegu succumbed to his injuries the following morning. A case under Section 103(1) of BNS and Section 27(1) of the Arms Act has been registered, and the accused is in custody.

“These are isolated criminal acts and not targeted attacks on any community,” the IGP clarified, adding that all district SPs have been directed to ensure the safety of migrant workers.

Compensation will be provided to the victims’ families under the state’s victim compensation scheme, and both cases are being fast-tracked, Apa said.

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