Itanagar, Aug. 10: Five persons were critically injured in a stone-throwing incident between Chakma villagers and AAPSU activists at Diyun Forest Tiniali in Changlang district last evening, prompting the administration to tighten security.

Several others sustained minor injuries in the incident, which took place after a group of Chakma villagers attacked the student activists who were returning from Diyun to Tezu.

Officer-in-charge of Diyun police station A.N. Singh today said the incident occurred around 7.30 last evening.

Singh said the activists of All Arunachal Pradesh Students Union (AAPSU) were returning from Diyun to Tezu on two buses and some vehicles after attending a court hearing on inclusion of Chakma refugees in electoral rolls when they were attacked by the group. The union activists retaliated thereafter.

“The AAPSU activists, who were returning after attending the court hearing, were attacked by Chakma refugees, who hurled stones at the vehicles in the Forest Tiniali area under Diyun circle last evening. Thereafter, the AAPSU activists retaliated, resulting in injury to some Chakmas persons too. The situation was brought under control after police arrived at the spot. At least five persons were admitted to Namsai hospital and several other persons, who sustained minor injuries were released from the hospital after treatment,” Singh said today.

A source said extra assistant commissioner Diyun Dakto Riba and assistant deputy commissioner B. Borang were present during the hearing.

Two Chakma villagers, who were returning from Namsai to Diyun, were also injured as the student activists retaliated.

AAPSU, who claimed that Chakma villagers ambushed their vehicles, has called a 12-hour statewide bandh on August 15 in protest against the incident.

The president of the students union, Takam Tatung, said, “We will go for an indefinite strike if the state government fails to convince the Centre to immediate deport the Chakma refugees.”

“The Election Commission has initiated the process for inclusion of names of Chakmas, who are outsiders and when the matter is subjudice in the high court. We question the silence of the state government on the refugee issue, as even after the our union had given a memorandum following a skirmish between two communities, which left several injured on April 9, the government failed to act. It appears the government is working for the cause of the refugees despite the fact that indigenous people have been repeatedly subjected to attacks in their own land by the Chakma refugees,” he added.