Sitharaman, Rijiju take stock of Army-Police clash issue in Arunachal

Bomdila: Union ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Kiren Rijiju Wednesday took stock of the situation arising out of clashes between Army and Arunachal Pradesh Police personnel here.

Some soldiers had allegedly vandalised the Bomdila police station and assaulted police personnel and civilians last week.

“The Defence Minister (Sitharaman) and I looked into the ongoing conflict between the army and state police personnel. I appeal everyone not to treat it as army versus police and civil administration issue,” Rijiju, the Union minister of state for home, told PTI.

Rijiju, who hails from Arunachal Pradesh, said the unfortunate incident that happened at Bomdila on November 2 should be settled amicably through proper understanding.

“Both the army and the police are serving the nation with utmost dedication. An incident can’t be allowed to tarnish the image of the great institutions,” he said. Both Sitharaman and Rijiju also met members of the civil society as part of confidence building measures.

Sitharaman is visiting Arunachal Pradesh to celebrate Diwali along with soldiers posted in the forward areas along the Sino-Indian border.

The incident happened when a group of soldiers allegedly misbehaved with civilians and police personnel at the Buddha Mahotsav celebrations in Bomdila, officials said.

Following this, the local station house officer went to the spot and two soldiers were brought to police station. After that some soldiers allegedly vandalised the Bomdila police station, assaulted police personnel and civilians, they said.