Staff Reporter
PASIGHAT, 25 Oct: Following the massive escalation of unrest linked to the ongoing agitation against the proposed 11,200-MW Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP), the Pasighat police have arrested three prominent faces of the movement.
Human rights lawyer and anti-dam activist Ebo Mili, alongside youth leaders Otul Jerang and Tajong Talom, are currently in police custody. While Mili and Jerang chose to formalise their surrender directly at the Pasighat police station to cooperate with the authorities, Talom was intercepted and picked up by law enforcement in Assam while on his way to Delhi, where he reportedly intended to brief national media on the mega-dam issue. The arrest memo mentions them being booked under Section 48 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), laying out exhaustive charges under Pasighat PS Case No 114/2026, including multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Prevention of Damage to Public Property (PDPP) Act.
The arrests follow a sudden, chaotic eruption of mob violence, stone-pelting, arson, and widespread vandalism that shook the township from Friday night to Saturday. During the unrest, angry crowd elements set fire to the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) office, torched multiple police vehicles, and damaged the Pasighat police station premises. The violence also spread to political quarters, resulting in the ransacking of the private residences of state BJP president Kaling Moyong, Pasighat West MLA Ninong Ering, and Mariyang-Geku MLA Oni Panyang.
However, the three detained leaders, who have long advocated for indigenous rights and environmental protection, had already explicitly dissociated themselves from the destructive acts. They maintained that their democratic movement was intended to remain entirely non-violent, expressing distress over how a peaceful public shutdown spiralled out of control.
In a public statement released via social media, Ebo Mili stated that the public demonstration had been moving forward peacefully until the unprovoked use of stun grenades and tear gas by police forces against the crowd triggered panic and chaos.
"We are not part of this violence and do not support any kind of violence," Mili stressed, strongly condemning the subsequent destruction of public and private assets. He urged the protesting youths to strictly uphold the principle of non-violence to protect the integrity of their cause.
Jerang maintained that the genuine protesting youthshad absolutely no hand in the midnight mob violence and arson. He underlined that the vandalism was the work of outside elements exploiting the situation, leaving the core activist group completely separated from the overnight destruction.
Tajong Talom meanwhile tendered his resignation from the Adi Students' Union (AdiSU) just prior to his detention, citing intense personal pressure and the targeted harassment of his family due to his unwavering stance against the mega-dam project.
