Correspondent
PASIGHAT, 8 Apr: Police fired tear gas as violence erupted in the Adi Students Union (AdiSU) election on Wednesday morning, leaving four police personnel injured in stone pelting. Eight protestors involved in the clash were also detained, police said.
The clash broke out when a group of AdiSU members and supporters opposed the election process and attacked security personnel deployed for election duty. Later, police fired tear gas to disperse the protesters.
According to reports, the group tried to disrupt the election process, while voting was underway at Balek secondary school on the outskirts of Pasighat town in East Siang district under security cover. The protesters, opposing the election process, shouted slogans against Adi Bane Kebang (ABK) Youth Wing, who conducted the election processes. They attacked on-duty security personnel by pelting stones.
The row over AdiSU’s election process stemmed from the fact that the student’s body reconstituted the central executive committee through an informal election conducted at Boleng during January this year.
Later, ABK (apex) disproved the committee and assigned its youth wing to conduct a formal election to reconstitute the AdiSU committee, following complaints from a section of AdiSU members.
All shops and business establishments, including banks in Pasighat remained closed on Wednesday, while passenger vehicles stayed off the road during the day, disrupting normal life.
