Arunachal Police Arrests Graffiti Artist Neelim Mahanta From Assam

GUWAHATI: The Arunachal police team on Sunday arrested graffiti artist and activist Neelim Mahanta from Assam in connection with the anti-dam graffiti painted by him on the 'Wall of Harmony' in Itanagar.

It came to light that a team of police from Itanagar police arrived in Assam and took Neelim to the police station in Itanagar.

The police team went to the residence of the graffiti artist located in the Lakhimpur district of Assam and nabbed him from there.

According to reports, Neelim was invited to Arunachal Pradesh to paint graffiti in a protest against a dam that is being set up in Dibang River connecting Bomjir and Malek villages in the eastern part of the state.

Mega Dams of 57000 megawatt have been proposed to be built in Arunachal Pradesh and Neelim was called to draw graffiti against this major dam project.

However, the Arunachal Police has not yet revealed the exact reason why Neelim Mahanta was arrested from his residence.

As informed by a closed source, the artist might have got arrested for the reason that he had drawn the graffiti on the Wall of Harmony which is an art project at the Secretariat building wall in Itanagar.

Meanwhile, the local organizations in Arunachal Pradesh have come up in support of Neelim demanding his immediate release.

The organizations claimed that Neelim was invited by the locals of the state to paint the graffiti and was paid for his work.

It may be mentioned that Neelim from North Lakhimpur has left his mark in different parts of Assam with his outstanding paintings catching the attention of many.

Earlier one of his quintessential wall paintings of Zubeen Garg at Lakhimpur bypass went viral on various social media platforms which led him to gain much attention across the state.

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