Arunachal Pradesh: Arrest of minor girl under anti-terror act questioned by Human Rights Law Network

By Manoj Kumar Ojha

GUWAHATI: Human Rights Law Network (HRLN) sought accountability for the arrest of a 15-year-old minor girl under an anti-terror Act in Arunachal Pradesh.

In an order on May 25, the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) of the State’s Papum Pare district pulled up the police and Home Department officials for illegally detaining a 15-year-old girl for 16 days from May 10, instead of producing her before the board within 24 hours, as required by the law.

The girl was among 41 arrested during a 72-hour shutdown from May 10-12 under the Arunachal Pradesh Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, or APUAPA of 2014. The bandh was called to protest the alleged question paper leak scam in the Arunachal Pradesh State Public Service Commission.

Referring to the order, the Human Rights Law Network (HRLN) said the authorities discovered belatedly that the arrested girl was a minor. She was subsequently transferred from the Jully District Jail in the State capital Itanagar to a juvenile home in Pasighat 260 km away.

“According to the Juvenile Justice Act, a child in conflict with the law must be produced within 24 hours, and no proceedings or orders, including preventive detention, should take place,” the HRLN said, also noting that the APUAPA Advisory Board released 18 persons on May 29 as they were not found involved in the bandh. These 18 were either going for medical needs or shopping for home necessities, it was found.

“It is disheartening to learn that the authorities misused the APUAPA, leading to the rampant arrest of innocent people, including a minor. These incidents highlight the incompetence of the authorities, as proper investigations were not conducted, and innocent individuals were unjustly detained,” the HRLN stated.

Seeking the fixing of responsibilities for making innocent people suffer for the incompetence of the authorities, the HRLN said it was crucial to acknowledge that the APUAPA curtails fundamental rights.

“It is our hope that this incident will lead to a thorough review of the existing protocols and training methods to ensure that such lapses do not occur in the future. The public’s trust and confidence in the authorities can only be restored through transparency, accountability, and adherence to the rule of the law,” a statement signed by advocates Ebo Mili and Tado Siga for the HRLN said.