Arunachal district tense after clashes, pilgrimage diverted

Eight people were injured, he said, adding, “Some are in the district hospital in Namsai while some others have been referred to Assam’s Dibrugarh for medical care. There was no further violence on Sunday but a large number of people from the Adivasi community had blockaded the highway, which we eventually cleared.”

As a precautionary measure, the Namsai district administration issued prohibitory orders under section 144 of the CrPC on Sunday. According to the order, a “serious law and order problem” arose because of a “clash between All Tai Khamti Singpho Youths and Adivasi Youths of Namsai”.

It said that “the situation still remains volatile which may flare up at any time further deteriorating the law and order situation”. The order prohibits the gathering of more than four people at a time in a part of Namsai and the carrying of “lethal weapons” such as guns, dao, bows and arrows, and lathis.

Separately, the district administration of Assam’s Tinsukia district, which border Namsai district to the west, diverted the route of pilgrims travelling to Parshuram Kund, a major Hindu pilgrimage site in Arunachal Pradesh’s Lohit district, and advised pilgrims to avoid the Kakopathar-Dirak Gate route passing through Namsai “until further advisory”.