| Staff Reporter |
Itanagar, Aug 10: At least 13 people were injured in an incident of violence at Hime village under Kangku Circle of Lower Siang district on Monday morning, triggering tension along the Arunachal Pradesh-Assam border.
Of the injured, two are locals of Hime village, while 11 are reportedly residents of nearby Bodoti village in Assam belonging to the Mising community.
According to Lower Siang Superintendent of Police Bomken Basar, hundreds of people entered Hime village at around 9:30 am and allegedly vandalised properties belonging to local residents.
“Most of the villagers had gone to Kangku headquarters for SIR. Only a few were in the village when the mob came in and attacked. In retaliation, some of the locals from the village fired at them, injuring a few,” Basar said.
He added that, according to information received from his Assam counterpart, none of the injured were seriously hurt.
The Arogya Centre at Hime village was reportedly attacked, while three shops located around two kilometres from the village were completely vandalised. Two persons were also allegedly beaten up during the incident.
The situation escalated further after three persons, including the Gaon Burah (GB) of Hime village, were allegedly abducted by the group that entered the village. In retaliation, the Hime villagers reportedly took one person from the other group captive.
The SP said that following negotiations between the two sides, all the abducted and captive persons were released at around 3 pm.
The incident is reportedly linked to a dispute over a common grazing ground located within Hime village. The grazing land has traditionally been used amicably by members of both communities for generations. However, the Mising community has recently been staking a claim over the land, leading to a dispute as the area falls within Hime village, local residents said.
Following the incident, Arunachal Pradesh Police has established a temporary camp near the vandalised shops, while Assam Police also set up a camp nearby to prevent further escalation.
“We are conducting joint patrolling of the area,” Basar said, adding that security personnel were maintaining a close watch on the situation.