Itanagar: The arson in front of Arunachal Pradesh BJP chief’s private residence was linked to the Permanent Resident Certificate (PRC) issue, the police said on Sunday after arresting three persons in connection with last Friday’s incident.
A person drove a car, parked it in front of Arunachal BJP president Tapir Gao’s private residence here on Friday morning and set it on fire before slaughtering a dog.
It was found out that the person, Tongam Jomoh who was one of the three arrested persons, set his own car afire and the dog he had slaughtered was also owned by him, Capital SP Tumme Amo told reporters here.
During interrogation, Jomoh claimed that he was against Gao as he was behind the PRC issue and he had also given party tickets to two non-tribals in the recently held assembly polls in the state, the SP said.
The PRC issue had rocked the state in February.
Violent protests broke out in Itanagar and Naharlagun towns after the BJP government announced that it was considering issuing PRC to members of six communities who are not natives of Arunachal Pradesh, but are living in the state for decades.
Jomoh was arrested from Assam’s Lakhimpur district early on Sunday while his two accomplishes were apprehended on Saturday, the SP said.
Five mobile handsets and the vehicle which they used to flee the scene were also seized, the SP said.
The accused were produced before the magistrate and remanded to police custody for further interrogation, Amo added.
CCTV footages showed that the arson and slaughtering of the dog happened in front of Gao’s residence around 6 am when the streets were empty.
Gao has been elected from Arunachal East Parliamentary constituency in the recent Lok Sabha polls.
The BJP state unit had condemned the incident and appealed to the administration to take stringent action against criminal “elements”. It also asked the authorities to ensure exemplary punishment to them as per law. (PTI)
