Staff Reporter
ITANAGAR, 22 Feb: Six members of the Pan Arunachal Joint Steering Committee (PAJSC), who were arrested on the eve of Statehood Day, were released on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the police have begun investigating the case involving a private car hitting two police personnel.
Itanagar SP Rohit Rajbir Singh in a press conference informed that the six detainees, comprising the chairman, the vice chairman, and four members of the PAJSC, have been released.
On 19 February, Tadak Nalo, Techi Puru, Hage Butung, Techi Rana, Takar Rai and Marge Kamnyi were detained for 24 hours and were sent to judicial remand by order of the ICR deputy commissioner. All six were arrested under Sections 107 and 151 of the CrPC.
“The police have requested the DC to sign a good behavior bond and issue it to all the six detainees, and also requested them to respect the bond,” the SP said.
The SP said, “We spoke with them in detail for several days before 19 February, and suggested to them the places for demonstration. However, they were not allowed to go for dharna where the Statehood Day celebration was taking place.”
Singh added that “these are sensitive times, as the elections are coming up. We have to maintain such security even in the future if we learn to know about any intended violence that is likely to take place.” He said, however, that “any non-voiolent demonstration can be staged.”
“Our department has always cooperated with the members of the PAJSC and accommodated them with their request of granting permission for dharnas. This time also, we suggested that they find any community plot where they could stage their dharna, with an intimation provided to the police and the administration. However, this was not met.
We cannot issue NOC for community plot, since it’s not under our periphery.”
Speaking about a video in which police personnel appear to have been knocked over, the police said that it has launched a probe.
A purported video of a vehicle claimed to be that of PAJSC chairman Techi Puru was seen knocking down a police officer and almost running over him near the Itanagar police station at Bank Tinali.
“Based on the video footage that has gone viral on the internet, with Techi Puru and Hage Butung inside the vehicle and two police persons trying to intervene, a case was registered under Sections 186, 353 and 332 of the IPC. However, both of them have also been released from both police and judicial custody,” the SP said.
“Investigation has been initiated against them, and the vehicle, along with the video footage recorded by the CCTV camera, has been seized by the police,” Singh informed.
“The case will come to a logical conclusion after the investigation is over,” he added.
