A prominent Tibetan complex in Itanagar suffered a huge damage from the ongoing Permanent Residence Certificate row in the state of Arunachal Pradesh. While an indefinite curfew is imposed in the state, mob violence and police firing have been very intense in the capital city of the state.
Local turned protested against the state government’s plans to grant permanent resident certificate (PRC) non-Arunachal Pradesh Scheduled Tribe communities of Namsai and Changlang districts. The situation went on a rampage and the protests took a violent turn on Sunday morning after a person was killed in police firing.
The mob violence went on to set the private residence of Arunachal Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein ablaze besides ransacking the office of the deputy commissioner. According to reports, the security forces resorted to blank firing as the unruly protesters defied curfew and marched towards Chief Minister Pema Khandu’s residence.
Amid the violent clashes, the prominent Tibetan complex in Itanagar was set ablaze. According to the report in Tibet Times, the entire complex consisting of 14 Tibetan shops were burnt down on Sunday afternoon. Although there are no casualties reported on Tibetans, the magnitude of financial loss to Tibetans can not be estimated as of now.
According to the report, the Secretary of Department of Home, CTA informed of doing all necessary measures to ensure the safety of the local Tibetans in the state. Since the issue is a highly political situation particularly relating to the upcoming general elections in May, the problem is anticipated to continue.