Assam-Arunachal border clash: Police fire in air as economic blockade enters second day

Dhemaji (Assam): A fresh clash broke out between protesters from Assam and Arunachal Pradesh in Dhemaji district on Thursday, prompting police from Arunachal Pradesh to fire shots into the air to disperse the crowd as an indefinite economic blockade against the neighbouring state entered its second day.

The confrontation took place near the Likabali entry point in Silapathar, where protesters from Assam were observing the blockade. According to an official, people from Arunachal Pradesh allegedly pelted stones at the protesters, leaving some with minor injuries and triggering a scuffle between the two groups.

The official said Arunachal Pradesh Police fired three rounds into the air to bring the situation under control.

The blockade was launched on Wednesday by the Takam Mising Porin Kebang (TMPK), the apex student body representing Assam’s Mising community, along with other local organisations. The groups are protesting the alleged firing on Monday in which at least 12 people from Assam were injured along the inter-state border.

The organisations have stopped vehicles, except those carrying emergency services and school transportation, from entering or leaving Arunachal Pradesh through the affected entry points.

The protesters are demanding an early resolution to the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border dispute, action against those allegedly involved in the recent firing and an end to what they describe as encroachment on Assam land.