Several student and youth organisations on August 12 blocked two key road links between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh in Tinsukia district in protest against the alleged firing on Assam villagers at Mingmang Badati in Dhemaji district.
The blockade began around 5 am at Jagun along the Jagun-Namchik and Jagun-Joyrampur roads. Protesters reportedly burnt tyres and stopped vehicles travelling between the two states.
The Tiwa Matak Peoples’ Council (TMPK), Matak Mahila Karmachari (MMK), Gorkha Students’ Union and Chhatra Mukti Sangram Samiti jointly launched the protest and announced that the blockade would continue indefinitely.
The organisations were protesting the firing at Mingmang Badati village under Gogamukh Revenue Circle in Dhemaji on Monday, in which 11 Assam residents were allegedly injured, including three who sustained critical injuries.
The protesters demanded that the Arunachal Pradesh government identify and arrest those allegedly responsible for the firing and hand them over to Assam Police for legal action. They alleged that armed persons from Arunachal Pradesh had opened fire on unarmed villagers from Assam and said those responsible must be held accountable.
The organisations warned that the blockade would remain in place until the alleged perpetrators were identified and arrested.
The agitation has disrupted traffic along important routes linking Assam and Arunachal Pradesh and is expected to affect the movement of passengers, commercial vehicles and other traffic between the two states.
Meanwhile, Assam Police have launched an investigation into the Mingmang Badati incident and said discussions would be held with their Arunachal Pradesh counterparts.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has directed the Director General of Police, Chief Secretary and other senior officials to examine the incident and coordinate with authorities in Arunachal Pradesh. Sarma has described the matter as a local land dispute rather than a conflict between the two states.
