Arunachal govt taking steps to check crime, violence: Minister

A road map has been drawn to initiate measures to regain Arunachal Pradesh's lost glory as the "island of peace", with involvement of all stakeholders, including community-based organisations and students, state Home Minister Bamang Felix said Thursday.

The new project -'Hamara Arunachal Abhiyan'-is aimed at reducing crime and violence in the state by taking "strict action against those trying to destabilise peace", he said.

"We will involve people from all walks of life to effectively deal with the deteriorating law and order condition in Arunachal. The 'abhiyan' will be soon kicked off by Chief Minister Pema Khandu," Felix told reporters after convening a review meeting of the state police department.

Arunachal has witnessed widespread violence over the past few months, the recent one being the May 21 militant ambush, which claimed the life of Khonsa West legislator Tirong Aboh and ten others.

In February, three people were killed and several injured in clashes over issuance of Permanent Resident Certificates to six non-Arunachalee communities.

Felix, while addressing the press meet, said the state cabinet has sanctioned the creation of 1000 new posts of civil police officers to strengthen the existing force.

"The government has also proposed the creation of an anti-riot battalion in the state to effectively deal with the law and order situation. The idea is in the conceptual stage and we have written to the finance department for its approval. Once cleared, the other modalities will be worked out," the minister stated.

The state government had last year sanctioned Rs 9.5 crore for police modernisation, and the process of procuring arms and other equipment will be completed soon, he said.

"The government will not tolerate any form of violence nor will it spare anybody trying to destabilise peace in the state," Felix added.

Among other present at Thursday's press meet were DGP SBK Singh and Home Commissioner Ashish Chandra Verma.

Asked about the alleged security lapses in the Khonsa massacre, Singh said, "A joint operation of the Army and the police has been launched to nab the culprits involved in Aboh's killing. We have directed the Army to seal the border with Nagaland," he added.

Felix, on his part, said the government has already announced that it would hand over the case to the NIA.

The newly sworn-in state cabinet members, during their first sitting on Sunday night, had unanimously decided that the Aboh killing case will be handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) as "thorough investigation needs to be carried out in a time-bound manner and justice be delivered expeditiously to the bereaved family members".