Arunachal: Assam officials, CPRF evict villagers
Itanagar, Apr 05: Assam forest officials, along with CRPF personnel, allegedly demolished two houses, damaged property and took away valuables from Tarasso village under Balijan circle of Papum Pare district in Arunachal Pradesh. Official sources said here today that Papum Pare Deputy Commissioner (DC) Bidol Tayeng, on receipt of the information yesterday, wrote a letter to his Sonitpur counterpart in Assam to stop the eviction in the area located at the disputed inter-state boundary as it would amount to violation of the status quo.
The
Sonitpur
DC
had
apparently
ordered
the
eviction
on
the
ground
that
people
from
Arunachal
had
encroached
upon
the
reserve
forest
of
Assam.
''The
status
quo
has
to
be
respected,
particularly
when
a
retired
Supreme
Court
judge
has
been
heading
the
Boundary
Commission
to
solve
the
border
dispute,''
Mr
Tayeng
told
the
Sonitpur
DC,
who
agreed
not
to
conduct
further
eviction.
Sources said the villagers had been living there for the past 10 years, which could not be considered as encroachment even if they were living in the reserve forest as per the status quo signed between the two state governments. Local villagers, however, alleged that the officials also assaulted five women, who had protested against the eviction.
UNI