New Delhi: The Union government has rushed two Rapid Action Force (RAF) companies of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) to Arunachal Pradesh after unrest broke out in Pasighat during protests against the proposed 11,200-MW Siang Upper Multipurpose Project, officials said on Sunday (October 25), PTI reported.The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) issued the order on Saturday (October 24). Around 250 personnel from the two companies were flown out of Navi Mumbai in an Indian Air Force (IAF) transport aircraft.The RAF is the CRPF’s specialised riot-control wing.Several CRPF units are already stationed in the affected areas, and the state normally hosts two to three CRPF battalions on a permanent basis. Officials told PTI that these personnel have kept the situation from worsening since Friday, though some of them were hurt along with a number of state police and other central force personnel.According to Arunachal Pradesh Police, a mob torched a National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) office and a police station in East Siang district on Friday night. The same crowd also ransacked the homes of three political leaders, among them the state BJP president.Chief minister Pema Khandu said the right to peaceful protest was an essential part of democracy, but it was important that demonstrations remained within the bounds of the law and did not result in damage to property or disruption of public order. He described the incidents in Pasighat as regrettable and appealed to all sections of society to maintain peace, as per the report.“Misinformation and misconceptions surrounding the Siang Upper Multipurpose Project [SUMP] are creating apprehensions among our people. Bridging this information gap through facts, transparency and open dialogue is essential. Held a meeting with the Arunachal Indigenous Tribes Forum (AITF) and Community-Based Organisations (CBOs) to discuss the project and strengthen our collective efforts to spread awareness across Arunachal Pradesh. Our people deserve accurate information to understand the project, its strategic importance and the concerns associated with it,” Khandu wrote on X.Misinformation and misconceptions surrounding the Siang Upper Multipurpose Project are creating apprehensions among our people. Bridging this information gap through facts, transparency and open dialogue is essential.Held a meeting with the Arunachal Indigenous Tribes Forum (AITF) and Community-Based Organisations (CBOs) to discuss the project and strengthen our collective efforts to spread awareness across Arunachal Pradesh.Our people deserve accurate information to understand the project, its strategic importance and the concerns associated with it.— Pema Khandu པདྨ་མཁའ་འགྲོ་། (@PemaKhanduBJP) October 25, 2026A statement from the chief minister’s office said the 12-hour bandh called over the power project in the Siang, Upper Siang and East Siang districts had passed off largely peacefully on Friday. Trouble started in Pasighat once the bandh ended, the statement said, and went on until 3.30 am on Saturday.On Saturday, activist Ebo Mili and youth leader Otul Jerang surrendered to the police to signal their condemnation of the violence and to appeal to young protesters to remain peaceful.The SUMP, proposed as a 11,500 megawatt dam, on the Siang river – which enters Arunachal as the Yarlung Tsangpo from Tibet and flows into Assam as the Brahmaputra – has over the last few years attracted protests from local residents who are concerned about displacement, the loss of homes and agricultural lands as well as the environmental impact the project will entail.“If the indigenous community is not ready to move despite the threat of China’s water bomb, and is ready to die, what is the logic behind the Indian state forcing an 11,000 MW project on the people? Explain it to me,” journalist Tongam Rina wrote on X on Monday (October 26).If the indigenous community is not ready to move despite the threat of China’s water bomb, and is ready to die, what is the logic behind the Indian state forcing an 11,000 MW project on the people? Explain it to me. Pema’s and Modi’s supporters may stay away. You are abusive, uneducated, and don’t make sense; therefore, geopolitics, hydropower, FPIC, and IPR are beyond you— Tongam Rina (@tongamrina) October 26, 2026