Army-police blame game over Bomdila police station vandalization

Itanagar: Just days after personnel belonging to the 2nd Arunachal Scouts (AS) allegedly vandalized the Bomdila police station, a blame game has started between the Army and the district administration of West Kameng district.
On Saturday, hundreds of AS personnel allegedly gheraoed the police station and damaged five vehicles. They reportedly pelted stones, forcefully entered into the police station and snatched away arms.They also allegedly took away the mobile phones of the officer in charge and threatened him with dire consequences, West Kameng SP Raja Bantia said.
The Armymen reportedly launched the attack after two AS personnel were arrested on Friday for allegedly misbehaving with visitors during the ongoing Buddha Mahotsava Festival. However, after the accused AS personnel were brought to the police station, they reportedly manhandled the OC and a woman cop, the SP added. He also said a committee headed by additional SP has been constituted and it would submit the report within a week
A defence communique released on Monday however laid the blame on the police for the entire fiasco. The communique stated that the two jawans were picked up by the police and were severely beaten in the lock-up. Both the soldiers sustained serious injuries and are undergoing treatment at the Military Hospital in Tenga.
"The police have not acted in a responsible manner and have violated all protocols. Instead of taking the soldiers to the police station, they should have handed them over to military authorities. Further, police personnel misbehaved with the commanding officer's guard and used unparliamentary language, which led to a scuffle between the two sides. The entire incident is an outcome of high-handedness of the Arunachal Police, coupled with a lax attitude of the civil administration," the communique added.
Commanding officer of the battalion, Col Firdosh P Dubash, on Sunday filed an FIR at Bomdila PS against the OC Ashok Tayeng. The district administration has ordered an inquiry into the incident.