Arunachal: ACR wants Security forces, insurgents not to target civilians

Following a firing incident between the Central Security Forces and an insurgent group on Sunday, the Arunachal Citizens Right (ACR) on Tuesday expressed deep concern on the situation arising in the Tirap District of Arunachal Pradesh.

The firing incident led to the death of a 51-Year-old Retto Khako from Kolagaon village of  the district.

The innocent indigenous people of Tirap, Changlang, and Longding districts have faced immeasurable situations in the past, including the loss of many lives, as a result of insurgents from outside the state and the central armed police forces," the organisation said, urging rebel groups not to use the state for their own vested interests and pleading with security forces not to target civilians.

The ACR praised the deputy commissioner's magisterial inquiry into the assassination of Retto Khako, and requested a free and fair investigation, while also calling for peace in Tirap and expressing support and solidarity with the All Tirap District Students Union (ATDSU) movement.

The ACR is also concerned about the vendors who provide the (CAPF) deployed in Tirap, Changlang, and Longding districts withdrawing large numbers of vehicles because their bills have not been cleared for a long time.

According to credible sources, the vendors provided civil hired transport cars to CAPF in these districts based on the lowest-1 recommendations from the relevant district administrations through a competitive bidding mechanism. 

The responsible authority, on the other hand, refused to endorse the proposals of the respective board committees. According to the ACR, vendors withdrew their vehicles from the user agency in August of last year, putting the APF in a precarious position while dealing with extremist groups on the ground. "The home department will be responsible for any casualties or inconvenient face to CAPF and the public in general from insurgents due to vehicle shortages," the ACR said.

"Such irresponsible and delaying tactics on the part of the home department will not only put local vendors in a difficult position because they have borrowed from the bank, but will also jeopardies national security and defy the public interest in general," it said, urging the state governor to intervene immediately.