ITANAGAR, Jun 15: The Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee vehemently condemned the killing of a villager in Changlang district by Army personnel in a mistaken identity case.
“The deceased fell prey to the Army's unwanted ambush due to procedural lapses. As per convention, it is mandatory for the Army to coordinate with civil police before resorting to cordoning off or ambushing any civil areas to avoid any untoward happenings,” the party said in a statement here.
“The people of the state are peace-loving but any attempt to harass us physically or mentally shall not be tolerated under any circumstances. The people of Tirap and Changlang districts are sleeping giants and their endurance and tolerance should not be treated as weakness by the government and any forces whatsoever be. A citizen, that too an innocent villager cannot be murdered by Army 'mistakenly'. This is beyond the ethic of a disciplined Indian army. Arunachal should not be equated with Jammu and Kashmir. Such provocation by Army is uncalled for and demeans its hard-earned image,” it said.
The APCC blamed the incumbent state government, especially the Home department for having failed on all fronts to contain the prevailing law and order problem and asked the government to pay an ex-gratia of Rs 5 crore and provide governmental job to the family member of the deceased.
The party also conveyed its condolence to the members of the bereaved family.