ITANAGAR, March 5 - Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu today ordered a judicial probe into the large-scale rioting, violence and vandalism that took place in the State capital following the recent anti-PRC protests, which resulted in the death of three youths, injuries and huge loss of public and private properties.
Speaking at the State BJP Council meeting here, the Chief Minister said justice would be delivered to the bereaved families and added that people responsible for causing violence in the State capital would also be brought to law.
He said the investigation would be done by a committee headed by a retired judge of the high court to ensure a �thorough� and �impartial� inquiry so that the real picture of the anti-PRC protests could be unearthed and appropriate action could be taken against the �people behind the violence�.
Further clarifying that the State Government had never intended to move a resolution or a Bill in the Assembly over the PRC issue, the Chief Minister said that the matter was to be brought in the Assembly only for a �short duration discussion� and to make the recommendations of the Joint High Powered Committee (JHPC) on the PRC issue public.
After the JHPC recommendations had been made public, the State Government was planning to hold wider a public consultation involving all stakeholders, community-based organisations, student bodies and other organisations, said the Chief Minister. �However, the issue was misinterpreted, causing unrest among the students,� he added.
Sensing the unrest then, Khandu said a statement was issued on the social media, stating that the PRC matter would not be pursued further. Despite such an assurance, large-scale rioting and vandalism of government and public properties took place, which meant that antisocial elements had taken control of the protest with a political motive, observed the Chief Minister.
Khandu stated that the matter of the PRC to non-Arunachal Pradesh Scheduled Tribes (APST) communities of Namsai and Changlang districts has been scrapped forever and a gazette notification in this regard has been published.
Today�s State BJP convention was also attended by the party�s national general secretary Ram Madhav and State BJP president Tapir Gao, among others.
