Itanagar: Siang Deputy Commissioner P.N. Thungon has lodged a formal police complaint against human rights and anti-dam activist Ebo Mili for allegedly violating Section 144 during a protest against the Siang Multi-Purpose Project (SUMP) at Begging village in Arunachal Pradesh’s Siang district.
Thungon lodged a complaint at Boleng police station alleging violation of prohibitory orders over the protest at Beging village, where a pre-feasibility study for the project is to be carried out.
The complaint was filed under Sections 135, 191, and 324 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Sections 3 and 4 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984.
In the letter, the DC said Milli led a “mob” of 80 to 90 persons under the banner Siang Indigenous Farmers’ Forum (SIFF) at the proposed Siang Upper Multipurpose Project site in Begging.
“Approximately 400 individuals assembled on 23 May 2025, clearly violating prohibitory order NoSD/JUD-11(2)/2022-23/Vol-1/532-05 dated Boleng, which was issued by the DC on 22 May 2025,” the complaint letter read.
Thungon appealed to the Boleng police station to take action in accordance with the relevant sections of the law against Mili.
The members of SIFF launched a fresh agitation, this time “indefinite”, saying that the big dam to be constructed on the Siang river would led to displacement and result in serious adverse impact on their livelihoods and ecology.
The villagers burnt a hanging bridge to prevent central forces from reaching Beging during their protest on May 23.
Central forces were deployed by the state government to prevent law and order situation during the pre-feasibility study. The forces have been deployed in Begging, Geku, Yingkiong, and Boleng.
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Many villagers in both the Siang and Upper Siang districts have opposed the deployment of armed forces in the area.
The state government, however, says the multi-purpose project is aimed at checking possible threats from the 60,000MW dam being constructed by China in the upper reaches of the Siang, which is called Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibet.