Students Protest Killing Of Former MLA By Insurgents In Arunachal

Various students' organisations under the aegis of All Arunachal Pradesh Students Union (AAPSU) on Friday staged a rally here to protest the killing of former Congress MLA Yumsem Matey.

Denouncing the act of rebel groups in the three districts of Tirap, Changlang and Longding, hundreds of students marched from Akashdeep complex to Raj Bhavan holding anti-insurgency banners and placards. The protesting students later submitted a five-point memorandum to Governor Lt Gen K T Parnaik (Retd).

The demands of the students' organisations include securing peace and normalcy in Tirap, Changlang and Longding (TCL) region, to fast track the investigation of the MLA killing case through NIA. They also demanded immediate release of village chief of Chop village in Longding district, sealing of the international border and expelling of insurgent groups to secure peace in TCL region and three battalion forces to check cross-border crimes in each district.

The state government on Thursday decided to transfer the case relating to the brutal killing of Matey, to the National Investigation Agency (NIA). The government has requested the Union Home Ministry to take up the matter with the NIA to probe the incident, following a request from the state police department, Deputy Secretary in Home Department, Likha Sampu said in a statement here.

On December 16, Matey was shot dead by unknown assailants near the Indo-Myanmar border in the Lazu circle of Tirap district. Matey, a former Congress legislator, along with three of his followers had gone to the village for some personal work when someone took him towards a jungle on some pretext and fired at him killing him on the spot.

The NIA has been tasked by the state government to bring culprits involved in the gruesome killing of the former MLA to justice.