The Centre has sent two companies of the Rapid Action Force (RAF) of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) to Arunachal Pradesh following violence in Pasighat during protests against the proposed 11,200-MW Siang Upper Multipurpose Project.
The ministry of home affairs directed that the two companies, comprising around 250 personnel, be airlifted from Navi Mumbai aboard an Indian Air Force transport aircraft. On Friday night, a mob torched an NHPC office and a police station and vandalised the residences of three political leaders in East Siang district.
The violence continued in waves for nearly nine hours into Saturday morning, leaving over 40 police personnel injured in stone-pelting. Arunachal chief minister Pema Khandu appealed to all sections of society to maintain peace.
India’s proposed 11,200-MW Siang Upper Multipurpose Project is being pitched as a strategic counter to China’s mega dam upstream, but the plan has faced resistance from indigenous tribes who fear the reservoir could submerge villages.
