Blame game begins on Bomdila Police Station vandalization

ITANAGAR: Blame game has started between the Army authorities and the district administration of West Kameng district in Arunachal Pradesh over Saturday’s incident when personnel of Second Arunachal Scouts (AS) allegedly vandalized the Bomdila police station following arrest of two personnel of the battalion.

Reportedly, hundreds of AS personnel had gheraoed the police station, damaged about five vehicles, breaking door and window panes, pelted stones, forcefully entered into the PS, snatched away arms and ammunition, mobile phones of the officer in-charge and threatened him with dire consequences on October 3 last, according to West Kameng SP Raja Bantia.

In fact, the two AS personnel misbehaving with visitors during the ongoing Buddha Mahotsava Festival who were brought to the PS on November 2 had allegedly manhandled the OC and a woman cop, the SP said.

The Commanding Officer of the battalion Col Firdosh P Dubash on Sunday filed an FIR at Bomdila PS against the OC Ashok Tayeng, even as the district administration has ordered an inquiry into the incident.

The SP further informed that a committee headed by Additional SP had been constituted which would submit the report within a week.

According to a Defence communiqué on Monday, the two jawans of the battalion were picked up by the police while they had gone to attend Buddha Mahotsav and were severely beaten up in the lock up. Both the soldiers are presently admitted and are undergoing medical treatment in Military Hospital at Tenga for the grievous injuries sustained during the custodial brutal manhandling inflicted upon them by Arunachal Police.

“The police have not acted in a responsible and mature manner violating all the laid down protocols of dealing with the uniform personnel, as instead of looking up the soldiers in the police station they should have handed over the soldiers to the military authorities. The CO tried to defuse the situation by having a meeting with the SP Bomdila on Saturday when the police personnel instigated the CO’s guard by misbehaving with them and using unparliamentary language which led to a scuffle between both sides which otherwise could have been avoided had the on-duty police personnel behaved in a more professional manner,” the communiqué said.

“The entire incident is an outcome of highhandedness displayed by the Arunachal Police coupled with the lax attitude of the civil administration,” the communiqué added.

Condemning the incident, BJP national council member RK Khrimey on Monday urged Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to conduct a high level thorough probe into incident, never seen in this sensitive border State.

Meanwhile, members of civil society organizations organized a rally at Bomdila on Monday to protest against the misdeed of the Army personnel.

Khrimey, while addressing the rally, condemned such unruly behavior of Army personnel in a peaceful society and demanded stern action against the wrong doers to prevent such acts in future.

The participants were too agitated and each one of them condemned the unbecoming behaviour of the army personnel.