Correspondent
PASIGHAT, 16 Jul: The Adi Mising Bane Kebang (AMBK) has expressed deep anguish over the recent violent incident in Roing, Lower Dibang Valley, where 29-year-old Shankar Pegu was shot dead on 13 July. The organisation has demanded that the state government transfer the case to a judicial court in Assam to ensure fair justice.
In a representation to the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, AMBK functionaries stated that the crime reflects a disturbing lack of humanity and disregard for the rule of law by the perpetrator.
They further lamented that after shooting Pegu, the accused failed to take him to nearby health facilities in Roing, Pasighat, or Dibrugarh (Assam) for timely medical treatment. Instead, the offender transported the critically injured man to TRIHMS, Naharlagun, which may have deprived him of the medical support he urgently needed.
Describing the incident as “rare and barbaric,” the AMBK also demanded immediate compensation for the victim’s family and strict action against those who assisted the accused in transporting Pegu from Roing to Naharlagun.
The killing of Shankar Pegu sparked widespread outrage, prompting Mising community-based organisations – led by the Takam Mising Porin Kebang (TMPK), Mising Mimag Kebang (MMK), and Takam Mising Mime Kebang (TMMK) – to impose a blockade at key entry points between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. The affected locations included Dirak (Namsai), Shantipur (Roing, LDV), Ruksin (East Siang), Silapathar (Lower Siang), Banderdewa and Hollongi (Papum Pare), and Bhalukpong (West Kameng).
The organisations launched the protest not only over Pegu’s death but also in response to the earlier death of another Mising labourer, Prabash Doley, who died under suspicious circumstances at a worksite in Chimpu, Itanagar, on 18 June.
Following reassurances from Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu and his Assam counterpart Himanta Biswa Sarma, the organisations called off the blockade but reaffirmed their commitment to closely monitor the progress of both cases.