Anti-Siang dam protesters detained outside Arunachal Bhawan in Delhi

The protest against the proposed 11,200 MW Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP) reached New Delhi on Saturday, when students and activists gathered outside Arunachal Bhawan and were detained by Delhi Police.

The demonstration was organised by the groups Himkhand and Youth for Change, ETV Bharat reported. Protesters demanded the release of everyone detained in Arunachal Pradesh over the anti-dam agitation, withdrawal of the project and the removal of Central Armed Police Forces deployed in the state.

Detentions and allegations

Delhi Police detained several demonstrators, among them Siang activist Katon Moyong, widely known as "Aborman", according to ETV Bharat. A heavy police presence was seen outside the building.

Members of Himkhand told Maktoob Media that protesters were pushed into buses and that some were sexually assaulted during the detention. One member said her shirt was lifted and she was pinched on her private parts. Another said the detainees were taken in three vehicles to different places, with seven students from the North East held at Chanakyapuri police station and others taken towards Najafgarh near the Haryana border. They also said an independent journalist, Baksheesh Lamba, had been picked up separately and could not be reached.

Delhi Police had not responded publicly to the allegations by Saturday evening. NEInsider has not been able to independently verify them.

Background

The agitation turned violent in Pasighat on 23 October, when police used tear gas and protesters set fire to police vehicles, an NHPC office and the homes of BJP leaders. Dozens of people have since been arrested in East Siang and neighbouring areas, some under the state's anti-unlawful-activities law.

Indigenous groups, including the Adi Bane Kebang United and the Siang Indigenous Farmers' Forum, fear the dam would submerge ancestral land and displace villages in a seismically active region. Chief Minister Pema Khandu has said no decision on the dam would be taken until the pre-feasibility report is ready, and the government says it is open to talks.

NEInsider will update this story when Delhi Police or the Arunachal government responds.