KHONSA, 26 Sep: Members of various organisations from Tirap, Changlang and Longding districts on Monday organised a candlelight vigil to protest the brutal killing of Lokhi Wangsu.
The locals have alleged that the youth died after personnel of the forest battalion of Assam’s Dibrugarh district fired at him while he was looking for his missing cow within the reserved forest area in the morning of 18 September.
The protestors vehemently condemned the brutal killing of the youth and demanded immediate constitution of a high-level inquiry committee to investigate the case “and arrest the culprit(s) involved in the cold-blooded murder of the youth.”
They further demanded that the authorities concerned discuss with their Assam counterparts to stop patrolling by Assam forest guards and battalions in the Towang reserved forest until the Namsai Declaration is resolved by both Assam and Arunachal governments.
Their other demands include increasing the number of forest guards in the Borduria range, providing compensation to the victim’s family, and observance of the status quo by both the states’ forest departments until the matter is resolved.
The candlelight vigil was organised jointly by the All Tirap District Students’ Union, the Longding District Students’ Union, the Changlang District Students’ Union, the Wancho Council, the Nocte Students’ Union, the All Tutsa Students’ Union, the All Ollo Students’ Union, the Borduria Welfare Federation, the Nocte Mother’s Federation, the Chopnu Students’ Union, the Naitong Youth Association, the Nokphan Students’ Union, and the Borduria Youth Association (DIPRO)
