Protests against the proposed 11,200 MW Siang Upper Multipurpose Project turned violent in Pasighat on October 23, 2026, according to Outlook India, Sentinel Assam and India Today NE.
An NHPC office, a police station, government offices and police vehicles were set on fire or damaged, and the Chief Minister urged talks.
The number of RAF personnel sent to the state is given as 250 in one headline but not in the article, and no arrests had been reported as of Saturday noon.
The accounts are those of officials and the media, and no inquiry findings were available.
The homes of the BJP state president and two MLAs were damaged, and some property was reportedly taken away, according to Outlook India.
Eight protesters with minor injuries received first aid at a local hospital, according to the same report. The number of injured police personnel was not given.
The Deputy Commissioner said a magistrate ordered tear gas after protesters refused to disperse and that there was no baton charge, according to Outlook India.
The situation stayed tense until about 4 am on Saturday and was under control by the time of the Deputy Commissioner’s statement, according to Outlook India.
No arrests had been made in connection with the Pasighat violence as of Saturday noon, according to Outlook India.
The Centre moved additional Rapid Action Force personnel to the state on Sunday, October 25, according to India Today NE. A headline lists the number as 250, which the article itself does not state.
Protesters demand the release of 10 arrested activists within 24 hours, the reinstatement of suspended gaon buras, the withdrawal of pre-feasibility survey activities and the removal of paramilitary and central forces, according to Outlook India.
Sections of the indigenous Adi community fear displacement, loss of ancestral land and ecological damage, and residents question the safety of a mega dam in a seismically sensitive region, according to India Today NE.
Siang river banks at Pasighat (file image), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
