Indefinite blockades on roads connecting Assam, Arunachal temporarily suspended

Itanagar, Jul 15 (PTI) Indefinite blockades on roads connecting Assam and Arunachal Pradesh were temporarily suspended by several Mising community organisations on Tuesday, following an interaction between the chief ministers of the two northeastern states, officials said on Tuesday.

The organisations blocked several thoroughfares along the inter-state border in the morning, seeking justice for the killings of two labourers from Assam in Arunachal Pradesh, but suspended the protest later in the day.

The suspension comes in the wake of assurances from both state governments and police authorities that those involved in the murder of the two labourers will be brought to justice, the officials said.

A joint meeting with all stakeholder organisations is expected within the next three days, they said.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Takam Mising Porin Kebang (TMPK), which spearheaded the protest alongside the Mising Mimag Kebang (MMK) and Takam Mising Mime Kebang (TMMK), expressed gratitude to Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu and his Assam counterpart Himanta Biswa Sarma for their intervention and response to a memorandum seeking justice in the deaths of 22-year-old Prabash Doley and 29-year-old Shankar Pegu.

Arunachal Pradesh Inspector General of Police (IGP) Chukhu Apa said legal action has been initiated in both cases and urged the public to maintain peace and refrain from taking the law into their own hands.

Doley, a labourer from Misamora village in Assam's Dhemaji district, was killed in Chimpu, Itanagar on June 18, following a dispute.

Accused Tai John has been arrested and charged under Section 103(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Blood-stained weapons and clothing have been recovered, and the police await forensic reports to file the chargesheet, an officer said.

In the second incident, Shankar Pegu, a labourer from Borajuli in Assam's Biswanath district, was allegedly shot at by his employer Tadar Bhai, in Roing in Arunachal Pradesh's Lower Dibang Valley district on July 13.

The accused took him to the Tomo Riba Institute of Health and Medical Sciences in Naharlagun, where Pegu succumbed to his injuries the next day.

A case under Section 103(1) of BNS and Section 27(1) of the Arms Act has been registered, and the accused is in custody, the police said.

"These are isolated criminal activities and not targeted attacks on any community," the IGP said, adding that all district SPs have been directed to ensure the safety of migrant workers.

Compensation will be provided to the victims' families under a state scheme, and the investigations into the two cases are being fast-tracked, Apa said.

TMPK said that it would continue to monitor developments and reiterated its commitment to justice for the victims, while appealing to the public to maintain peace. PTI CORR BDC