Protesters set ablaze Dy CM's private residence in Arunachal Pradesh
Itanagar : Defying curfew, agitators allegedly set ablaze the private residence of Arunachal Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein and ransacked the office of the deputy commissioner here on Sunday to protest against recommendations to grant permanent resident certificates to six communities, police said.
A large number of people marched through streets here damaging public property and vehicles after a person who was injured in police firing on Friday succumbed to injuries at a hospital, police said.
The protesters set ablaze the private residence of the deputy chief minister at Niti Vihar here and ransacked the office of the deputy commissioner of Itanagar.
They also set on fire a large number of vehicles parked in the compound of the DC's office.
The protesters also attacked the Itanagar Police station and several public properties in the state capital, police said.
The agitators also blocked the road leading to the Naharlagun railway station as a result many passengers, including patients, were held up at the station since Sunday morning.
An indefinite curfew was clamped in Itanagar and Naharlagun on Saturday as protesters resorted to stone pelting in which 35 people, including 24 police personnel, were injured.
The Army had also conducted flag marches in Itanagar and Naharlagun on Saturday. Internet services remained suspended in Itanagar and Naharlagun.
All markets, petrol pumps and shops were closed and most of the ATMs in the state capital were out of cash, police said.
Over 60 vehicles, including many police vehicles, were set ablaze and over 150 vehicles were damaged by the protesters since Friday, they said.
On Saturday, the agitators damaged the stage of the Itanagar International Film Festival at the Indira Gandhi Park here. The organisers later called off the film festival.
The Joint High Power Committee (JHPC), after holding parleys with the stakeholders, recommended granting permanent resident certificates (PRCs) to six communities, who are not natives of Arunachal Pradesh but has been living in Namsai and Changlang districts for decades.
The proposals evoked resentment among several community-based groups and students' organisations, who claimed that the rights and the interests of indigenous people will be compromised if the state government accepts them.
The recommendation of the JHPC was supposed to be tabled in the Assembly on Saturday but was not tabled as the Speaker adjourned the House sine die.
On Saturday, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh appealed to the people of Arunachal Pradesh to remain calm and maintain peace.
He also spoke to Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu, who briefed him about the prevailing situation in the border state.
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
