Meet on 2 Dec for lasting solution
ITANAGAR, Nov 24: In the wake of reports of sporadic incidents of violence occurring in Namsai district, Home Minister Bamang Felix, accompanied by the DGP RP Upadhyaya, on Sunday rushed to the district, at the directive of Chief Minister Pema Khandu, to take stock of the law and order situation there.
Felix reviewed the way the administration and the police are handling the law and order situation in the district in view of the tension prevailing between the Adi and the Khamti communities there.
During the review meeting with the district’s administration and police, Felix directed them to ensure safety of the people, so that peace and communal harmony may prevail.
The home minister said he has been monitoring the situation closely, and commended the Namsai administration and police for showing restraint and handling the situation in the best way possible.
The minister also met with representatives of community-based organizations of both the communities, and urged them to refrain from resorting to violence. He urged them to “volunteer to instill the sense of brotherhood and resolve issues amicably.”
Felix assured them that the state government would convene a round-table meeting, including all stakeholders, on 2 December in Itanagar to find a permanent solution to the issue.
He, however, warned that any organization that is found to be escalating tension or disturbing
the peace in the area would be dealt with with iron hands.
The minister later informed that the Namsai DC, HoDs, senior police officers, and leaders from the ABK, the TKSU, the TKDC, the NAYWA and others have agreed to come for the round-table meeting on 2 December and have assured to maintain peace in the area.
Besides the DGP, Felix was accompanied by the IGP, and MLAs Jikke Tako and Hayang Mangfi during the visit.
On 23 November, clashes between Adis and Khamptis in Namsai reportedly left several people injured while a 12-hour bandh was underway in the district.
The bandh was imposed by the All Tai-Khamti Singpho Students’ Union and the All Namsai Area Youth Association over alleged police inaction and failure of the police to register an FIR lodged on 28 October against instigators of violence in the district.
On the same day, the DGP dispatched seven officers of the state police to Namsai.
Tension has been simmering between the two communities after 14 houses were burnt down in Mabira, a new village near Khai-Hay Nallah, under the Tengapani reserve forest area, between 12 and 15 October. (With HMO input)
