The resistance against the proposed Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP) in Arunachal Pradesh has now reached the national capital. On Saturday, November 1, Delhi Police detained around 40 students, indigenous youths and activists who had assembled outside Arunachal Bhawan to oppose the proposed mega dam and demand the release of those arrested during the ongoing anti-dam movement in Arunachal Pradesh. The detention was accompanied by disturbing allegations of police brutality, including physical and sexual assault of protesters.
The demonstration, organised by Himkhand and Youth for Change (YFC) Arunachal, sought to draw attention to the escalating crackdown on indigenous communities opposing the proposed 11,200-MW project. Protesters were demanding the withdrawal of the project, the release of anti-dam activists and villagers arrested in Arunachal Pradesh, the withdrawal of criminal cases against them and the removal of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) personnel deployed in the Siang region.
According to accounts shared by protesters with Maktoob Media, the demonstration had barely continued for 15 minutes before Delhi Police personnel began forcibly detaining participants. Among those detained was Katon Moyong, popularly known as Abor Man, an environmental engineer and prominent voice in the anti-dam movement in Arunachal Pradesh. Protesters alleged that Moyong was manhandled during his detention, reportedly while interacting with the media.
The allegations of mistreatment extended beyond physical force. Vagheesha, a member of Himkhand who participated in the demonstration, alleged that several protesters were subjected to sexual assault and inappropriate touching by police personnel while being detained.
“My shirt was lifted, I was pinched on my private parts and brutally pushed into the buses,” Vagheesha said, describing the treatment meted out to protesters. The activist maintained that indigenous people from Arunachal Pradesh had travelled to the national capital to exercise their democratic rights and raise concerns about their ancestral land, only to face police brutality. In a video statement recorded while being taken away in a police vehicle, another Himkhand member alleged that protesters had been beaten and sexually assaulted. The protesters also said that police personnel did not initially disclose where they were being taken.
“My shirt was lifted, I was pinched on my private parts” alleges a peaceful anti-Siang Dam protester brutally detained by Delhi Police outside Arunachal Bhawan on Saturday.
Is this the Delhi Police whose job is to serve and PROTECT the PEOPLE?
The lengths that Home Minister @AmitShah’s forces are going to quash any kind of political expression is reaching depraved and disgusting new lows day by day.
The right to protest is constitutional. Who will hold the Delhi Police accountable?
— Pawan Khera 🇮🇳 ಪವನ್ ಖೇರಾ (@Pawankhera) November 1, 2026
SIANG DAM heat Reaches to Delhi as Protest Erupts amid Delhi Police Violent Detention of Tribals
Voice is Getting Louder
Siang नदी को बहने दो
#savesiang https://t.co/Z3uUqVuliq— CJP Gems | (@GameonNewbie) October 31, 2026
The manner in which the detentions were carried out raised further concerns. Speaking to Maktoob, Kranti, another Himkhand member, said that three police vehicles transported protesters to different locations. Seven students from the Northeast were taken to Chanakyapuri Police Station, while other detainees were reportedly taken towards Najafgarh, near the Delhi-Haryana border. Men and women were separated during the process. An independent journalist, Baksheesh Lamba, was also allegedly picked up during the operation and taken away in a separate vehicle. Kranti said that Lamba was subsequently unreachable and that protesters had no information about his whereabouts.
Siang Dam Protest: Delhi Police Attack on Arunachal Protesters in New Delhi! https://t.co/xs6KM29ieT
— Roshni Haokip (@RoshniHaokipIN) November 2, 2026
Protest against the proposed Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP) was held in New Delhi today, with people gathering in solidarity with the people of Arunachal Pradesh. Demanding the withdrawal of SUMP, the removal of police and security forces from the Siang Valley, and the release of Ebo Mili and other detained activists.
Katon Moyong also known as Abor Man were detained along with others in Delhi .— Marina Dai (@itsMarinaDai) October 31, 2026
According to the organisation, around 40 people had been detained, with approximately 25-30 protesters initially remaining at Baba Haridas Nagar Police Station. Himkhand further alleged that women protesters continued to be detained late into the night and that detainees were asked to sign forms under Section 35(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).
𝙈𝙚𝙚𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙞-𝙙𝙖𝙢 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙆𝙖𝙩𝙤𝙣 𝙈𝙤𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙜 from Arunachal Pradesh leading protests against the Siang Dam Project. https://t.co/YIXHVxXg6k
— Kreately.in (@KreatelyMedia) November 1, 2026
*Urgent Action Alert*
Students and youth brutalised at Delhi Arunachal bhawan peaceful protest against Siang dam project! The brave youth led protest dared to protest despite the heavy militarisation that was done in Chanakya Puri, meant to terrorise anyone who dared to even https://t.co/eGla8q6nw1— Anwar Mavericks (@AnwarMavericks) October 31, 2026
Lawyers representing the detainees reportedly waited outside the police stations as families and fellow activists attempted to establish contact with those in custody. Delhi Police had been approached for a response to the allegations of assault and arbitrary detention, but no response had been received at the time of the initial reports.
All protesters released after Congress intervention
All the Arunachal Pradesh youths and students detained during the Delhi demonstration have since been released following the intervention of senior Congress leaders. According to Echo of Arunachal, Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Bosiram Siram, accompanied by All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charges for Arunachal Pradesh Dr A. Chellakumar and advocate Mathew Antony, visited Chanakyapuri Police Station after learning about the detentions. The leaders intervened with police authorities to secure the release of the protesters.
Around 40 young people had reportedly been detained and taken to three different police stations across Delhi. Their release brought immediate relief to the detainees and their families, but it does little to address the larger questions surrounding the police action, particularly the allegations of sexual assault and the circumstances in which the protesters were picked up.
Reacting to the development, Siram said that the voices of Arunachal Pradesh’s people could not be ignored and that young people must be allowed to exercise their constitutional right to peaceful protest. He stressed that concerns relating to land, identity, livelihoods, the environment and the future of indigenous communities must be heard rather than suppressed.
The APCC had earlier condemned the detentions, demanding that the police disclose the legal grounds for taking protesters into custody, communicate their whereabouts to their families and ensure that no peaceful demonstrator faced intimidation or harassment. The party also called for transparent engagement with affected communities, indigenous organisations, student bodies and civil society groups before the government proceeds with further activities related to SUMP.
While everyone is busy with the Ramlila Maidan protest, I would like to remind you that people are being detained in Arunachal Pradesh.🥀 https://t.co/olV9EyesLS
— Henry Singh (@HenrySingh_x) November 1, 2026
The crackdown in Arunachal Pradesh that brought protesters to Delhi
The demonstration outside Arunachal Bhawan was not an isolated protest. It was an extension of a growing movement against the proposed dam, which has faced sustained opposition from sections of the indigenous Adi and Galo communities in the Siang region. On October 23, youth groups and local organisations had called for a 12-hour bandh across Siang, Upper Siang and East Siang districts to oppose the proposed project. The demonstration in Pasighat subsequently turned violent, with police deploying tear gas and stun grenades as tensions escalated. Angry protesters allegedly vandalised and set fire to police vehicles, an NHPC office and the residences of political leaders, including local BJP MLAs and the state BJP president.
Following the violence, the Arunachal Pradesh government intensified its security deployment and initiated arrests under stringent provisions, including the Arunachal Pradesh Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (APUAPA). Ddozens of people had been arrested or detained, while families raised concerns that the police action had also affected ordinary residents and people who had participated in peaceful demonstrations. The deployment of additional security personnel in the region, reportedly including more than 30 companies of CAPF personnel, has further heightened tensions. The security presence has been linked to efforts to facilitate preliminary project-related exercises, including the preparation of a Pre-Feasibility Report (PFR).
The crackdown has also reportedly extended to government employees and traditional village institutions. The Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee has expressed concern over the suspension of government employees and action against gaon buras, or traditional village headmen, who have opposed the project.
Detailed report may be read here.
Why indigenous communities are resisting SUMP
The Siang Upper Multipurpose Project, being pursued by the Centre through the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC), is envisaged as one of India’s largest hydropower and multipurpose storage initiatives. Its proposed capacity has been reported at approximately 11,200 MW. The Centre has repeatedly invoked strategic, water-security and flood-management considerations to justify the project, particularly in the context of China’s proposed large hydropower development on the Yarlung Tsangpo river in Tibet, which flows into India as the Siang.
However, for the indigenous communities living along the river, the proposed project is not merely an infrastructure or energy-policy question. It concerns the possible destruction of ancestral settlements, displacement, loss of agricultural land and forests, ecological disruption and the erosion of a way of life closely connected to the river.
Reports have indicated that as many as 27 villages could face submergence, with several dozen more potentially affected by the project. For the Adi community, the Siang, traditionally revered as Ane Siang, or Mother Siang, is central to cultural memory, identity, livelihoods and community life. The prospect of a massive dam on the river has therefore generated opposition that cannot be reduced to a disagreement over the technical feasibility of a development project.
Organisations such as the Siang Indigenous Farmers’ Forum (SIFF), Adi Bane Kebang United and various student and youth groups have consistently questioned the project and demanded that the concerns and consent of affected communities be taken seriously.
Chief Minister Pema Khandu has maintained that the government is presently seeking cooperation only for the preparation of the PFR and that the project will not be imposed without public consultation. However, activists have questioned how meaningful public consultation can take place when people opposing the project are being arrested, criminal cases are being registered against them, and security forces are being deployed in areas where the project is proposed. SIFF spokesperson Tagori Mize has also questioned the government’s willingness to engage in genuine dialogue while protesters remain behind bars, and security deployment continues.
Congress demands withdrawal of project and action against protesters
The Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee has demanded that the proposed SUMP be scrapped and all those arrested for opposing it be released. It has also called for the withdrawal of cases registered against protesters under APUAPA, the revocation of suspension orders against government employees and the withdrawal of action against traditional village headmen.
The party has maintained that no development project should proceed at the expense of indigenous communities’ ancestral land, identity, culture and livelihoods. It has called for the removal of additional security personnel from affected areas, compensation for those who have suffered losses and medical assistance and rehabilitation for injured protesters.
In a statement, the APCC emphasised that the government’s assurances about public consultation must translate into actual democratic engagement. It argued that strategic considerations cannot become a justification for disregarding indigenous rights or bypassing the principle of free, prior and informed consent (FPIC). The party has also urged the Centre and the Arunachal Pradesh government to restore peace through dialogue and confidence-building measures, rather than treating opposition to the project as a law-and-order problem.
“Different groups but one voice; different organisations but one collective resolve — Stop SUMP, Save Siang,” the APCC said in its appeal for solidarity among indigenous organisations, student unions, youth groups, civil society organisations and traditional institutions.
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