Three feared killed, dozens wounded in police firing in Tawang

Itanagar (Arunachal Pradesh), May 2 (ANI): At least three persons were killed and 18 others sustained bullet injuries when police opened fire on an angry mob trying to ransack the local police station in Tawang.

Official sources told the Arunachal Front newspaper that several angry supporters of Lama Lobsang Gyatso, reportedly demanding his release, attempted to ransack the police station.

Gyatso was arrested on last Friday after PRI representatives lodged an FIR against him for a circulated voice clip against Tawang Monastery Abbot His Eminence Guru Tulku Rimpoche.

He was arrested U/S 153(A), 295(A), 298 and 506 IPC and remanded to police custody. Series of complaints were also lodged against Gyatso at Bomdila, Dirang and Rupa PSs by the devotees, according to a release.

In fact, a tense situation has been prevailing in the Tawang district headquarters after Gyatso alias Anda threatened the Abbot and cautioned him to stay away from hydropower issue of Tawang district in a public meeting conducted by the panchayat leaders.

Within no time, the message spread like a wildfire agitating the people of the district, mostly Buddhists, who revere the Abbot and his supporters. About 6,000-old supporters of the saint, including villagers, NGOs, GoAP staff, PRI leaders, students and traders launched protest rally on Saturday against Gyatso 's voice clip

The huge gathering unanimously resolved that Gyatso should tender an unconditional apology in person to the Abbot and circulate a similar voice message seeking apology from the Buddhist population on Whatsapp.

Gyatso, as the general secretary of Save Monyul Region Federation (SMRF), has been launching anti-dam protests in the Tawang River Basin area, where 13 hydro-electricity projects with an installed capacity of 2,700 MW are expected to come up. The 600-MW Tawang-I and 800-MW Tawang-II on Tawang Chu are the biggest ones being executed by the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC).

The SMRF had launched a massive rally in January last with about 3,000 people led by monks of Tawang and West Kameng districts in Tawang to protest against the construction of large dams.