69 arrested under Arunachal anti-terror law after protests against dam project turn violent

Sixty-nine people were arrested and four detained after violence during a protest against a proposed dam in Pasighat, Arunachal Pradesh. The protest concerns a planned 12,500-megawatt project on the Siang river. The arrests matter because authorities used the Arunachal Pradesh Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, not only ordinary criminal provisions.

After security personnel fired tear gas, protesters allegedly vandalised and burned an office of the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation and a police station. Police also reported damage to the homes of two legislators and a BJP state chief. The arrested people face allegations of rioting, torching vehicles, and vandalising offices and houses.

Police filed 55 cases across Upper Siang, and East Siang districts. Twenty-six cases were registered in Upper Siang, 21 in Siang, and six in East Siang. Authorities also deployed 30 companies of CAPF, three companies of Assam Police, and Arunachal Police personnel.

The Arunachal Pradesh Unlawful Activities Prevention Act is a state law used in this case against people accused of involvement in protest-related violence. The article does not define the law or list its specific powers. It only reports that arrests and detentions were made under it.

Ordinary criminal law generally deals with specific offences such as rioting, arson, damage to property, or assault. A law focused on unlawful activities can cover a wider pattern of conduct that authorities view as threatening public order or security. The exact difference depends on the statute’s provisions and court interpretation.

Here, police also listed concrete allegations: rioting, torching vehicles, and vandalising offices and houses. They filed 55 cases in three districts. Because the article gives no text of the Act, its precise legal differences, penalties, and procedures cannot be established from this source alone.

The proposed Siang Upper Multipurpose project is planned to generate 12,500 megawatts of power. It would be built on the Siang river by the government-owned National Hydroelectric Power Corporation. Its scale makes the project important beyond one construction site, because its effects may extend through river communities in Siang and Upper Siang districts.

The Siang Indigenous Farmers’ Forum estimates that 27 villages along the river could be affected. These villages are located in Siang and Upper Siang districts. Residents have opposed the project for years, while several organisations continue protesting against it.

The project’s size has coincided with a strong official response to protests. Police filed 55 cases linked to the violence, arrested 69 people, and detained four. Authorities also deployed 30 companies of Central Armed Police Forces and three companies of Assam Police, alongside Arunachal Police personnel.

If built, the proposed dam could affect 27 villages along the Siang, according to the Siang Indigenous Farmers’ Forum. The article does not state whether specific homes, farmland, forests, or cultural sites would be submerged or relocated. It therefore supports a clear concern about affected communities, but not a detailed account of the consequences.

The river is central to the region’s communities. It flows into Arunachal Pradesh from Tibet and is the Brahmaputra’s main tributary. Residents in Siang and Upper Siang districts have opposed the project for years. Their opposition has produced protests and demands that the project not proceed.

The immediate recorded consequences are political and security-related. Police filed 55 cases after violence, arrested 69 people, and detained four. The government also increased force deployment. The article does not say whether construction will begin, how land decisions will be made, or what compensation or relocation arrangements exist.

Several groups and institutions shape the dispute. Residents and the Siang Indigenous Farmers’ Forum oppose the proposed dam, while student and community-based organisations have organised shutdowns and protests. Several organisations have protested the planned project for years.

The government-owned National Hydroelectric Power Corporation would build the 12,500-megawatt project. Niti Aayog first proposed the Siang Upper Multipurpose project in 2017. The Union government’s strategic concern was part of its background. The Arunachal Pradesh government has responded to protests through arrests, detentions, and security deployments.

Police handle the criminal cases and security response. The article names the Arunachal Police, Central Armed Police Forces, and Assam Police as deployed forces. Local legislators and the BJP state chief were also among those whose homes were reportedly vandalised. The continuing dispute links development, local opposition, and state security measures.

The Siang Upper Multipurpose project was first proposed in 2017 by Niti Aayog, the Union government’s think-tank. One stated reason was to counter the perceived threat from Chinese hydropower projects being developed upstream on the Yarlung Tsangpo. This gives the dam a strategic purpose in addition to power generation.

The Yarlung Tsangpo originates in Tibet and flows into Arunachal Pradesh, where it is known as the Siang. The Siang is the Brahmaputra’s main tributary. Because projects upstream could influence a river that continues into India, the proposal was connected to concerns about developments beyond India’s border.

The article does not describe the Chinese projects’ size, construction stage, or exact effects. It does show that the project’s background includes both energy planning and regional security. At the same time, communities along the Siang continue opposing a project that the farmers’ forum says could affect 27 villages.

Hydropower is electricity produced from the energy of moving water. A dam project changes how water flows through a river system so that its movement can be controlled and used. The article identifies the proposed Siang project as a 12,500-megawatt power project, but it does not explain its planned engineering design.

In a typical dam, water held at a higher level is released through large pipes or passages. The flowing water pushes turbine blades, making the turbine spin. The turbine is connected to a generator. As it rotates, the generator converts that mechanical motion into electrical energy, which can then be transmitted for use.

Dams can therefore produce large amounts of electricity, but they also change river conditions and may affect nearby communities. In this case, the farmers’ forum estimates that 27 villages could be affected. The article does not provide specific details about the project’s reservoir, turbines, land impacts, or construction schedule.