Arunachal Pradesh orders an inquiry after border firing with Assam

The Arunachal Pradesh government on Tuesday ordered an inquiry into the firing between forest officials of Assam and illegal tree-cutters along the inter-state border, officials said.

According to officials in Lakhimpur, Assam, illegal tree-cutters from Arunachal Pradesh and forest officials from Assam opened fire at No. 1 Belbasti inside Ranga Reserve Forest, but no one was injured.

Inspector General of Police (Law and Order) Chuku Apa said that he has directed the Superintendent of Police (SP) of Papum Pare to probe the incident.

“We are not sure who fired from our side. The miscreants probably did this to create misunderstanding between the two neighboring states,” Aapa said.

The exchange of fire took place in less than 24 hours after senior officials of Lakhimpur and Papum Pare districts discussed inter-state border issues at Upia in Arunachal Pradesh on Monday afternoon.

Several resolutions were adopted in the meeting such as handling of inter-state border issues jointly, involving local administration during visits to places near the border and maintaining status quo.

Last week, the Assam Forest Department had given eviction notices for 15 days to three villages in Kimin circle, sparking outrage among various organizations in Arunachal Pradesh.

Arunachal Pradesh Home Minister Bamang Felix on Monday said that both the states are making massive efforts to resolve the long-pending border dispute.

“The issue of giving eviction notice has been taken seriously by the state government and talks at various levels are already underway. The Chief Secretary and the Inspector General of Police (Law and Order) have also taken up the matter with their Assam counterparts,” he said. Told in a press conference.

Arunachal Pradesh, which was carved out of Assam, was initially a union territory before becoming a state in 1987.

Arunachal Pradesh and Assam share a 804.1 kilometer long border.

Arunachal Pradesh claims that during the reorganization of the northeastern states, many forest areas in the plains that traditionally belonged to hill tribal chiefs and communities were unilaterally transferred to Assam.

After Arunachal Pradesh got statehood, a tripartite committee was appointed which recommended that some areas be transferred from Assam to Arunachal Pradesh. Assam opposed this and the matter is now pending in the Supreme Court.

Arunachal Pradesh orders an inquiry after border firing with Assam

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