Amid violent protests, Arunachal Pradesh scraps Permanent Residency move

Itanagar, Feb 24: Amid violent protests, the BJP-led Arunachal Pradesh government on Sunday scrapped the decision of granting permanent resident certificates (PRC) status to two tribes from outside the state.

The announcement came after daylong protests during which Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein's private house was torched.

The incident happened despite an indefinite curfew being clamped in Itanagar and Naharlagun after protesters resorted to stone pelting on Saturday, in which 35 people, including 24 police personnel, were injured.

The protests escalated after a person who was injured in police firing on Friday succumbed to injuries at a hospital. On Sunday, people gathered in droves and damaged public property and vehicles, PTI quoted police officials as saying. In the violence, the private residence of the deputy CM at Niti Vihar was set on fire. However, Chowna Mein was not at his residence at that time.

Besides ransacking the deputy commissioner's office, the protesters also set ablaze a large number of vehicles parked in the compound and also attacked the Itanagar Police station. Commuters too faced hurdles after the road leading to Naharlagun railway station was blocked by the agitators.

Internet services have been suspended in Itanagar and Naharlagun. With all markets, petrol pumps and shops closed and most of the ATMs running out of cash, normal life was thrown out of gear in the state capital.

The proposal of the Joint High Power Committee (JHPC) to grant permanent resident certificates (PRCs) to six communities, who are not natives of Arunachal Pradesh but have been living in Namsai and Changlang districts for decades, have evoked resentment among several community-based groups and students' organisations.