The Arunachal Pradesh administration has sealed Mount Carmel School and imposed a curfew in Roing after sexual assault allegations and mob lynching triggered unrest.
BY PC Bureau
July 13, 2025: Mount Carmel School in Roing, Lower Dibang Valley district of Arunachal Pradesh, has been sealed indefinitely following grave allegations of repeated sexual assault of minor girls, aged six to eight, in the school’s hostel. The administration imposed a curfew in Roing town after a 19-year-old migrant worker accused in the case was lynched by a mob, triggering unrest across the region.
The case surfaced on July 10, when parents brought their daughters to Roing District Hospital, complaining of abdominal pain. Medical examinations confirmed sexual assault. Based on the findings, Roing Police registered an FIR under Sections 329(4) and 75(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and Sections 10 and 12 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
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The accused, Riazul Karim, a construction worker from Bongaigaon in Assam, allegedly gained repeated unauthorized access to the hostel premises due to security lapses, and sexually assaulted the children. He was taken into custody soon after the FIR was lodged.
📍Roing, Arunachal Pradesh
Anguished families of rape victims (minors) stormed the police station, dragged the rape accused out and beat him severely till death.
Parents of some of the students came to know about the sexual assault when they took their daughters to the pic.twitter.com/UxDoSc5fLE
— Naren Mukherjee (@NMukherjee6) July 13, 2025
However, on July 11, a mob of 500 to 600 people gathered outside Roing Police Station. In a major law-and-order breakdown, the crowd stormed the premises, broke open the main gate, and forcibly dragged Karim out of the lock-up. Despite attempts by police to intervene, the mob assaulted him on-site and again at Roing District Hospital, where he was taken for emergency treatment. The hospital’s emergency ward was vandalised, and the assault continued, resulting in his death. A post-mortem was conducted under judicial supervision, and Karim’s body was transported to Assam with a police escort.
On July 12, the district administration ordered the closure of Mount Carmel School and its hostel. Parents were advised to enrol their wards in nearby government or recognised private schools. Authorities cited the school’s failure to ensure hostel security as a key enabling factor in the crime.
To contain the escalating tensions, curfew was imposed under Section 144 of the CrPC. Four companies of the Indian Reserve Battalion (IRBn), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) have been deployed across Roing. The situation remains tense but stable, according to officials.
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The Arunachal Pradesh State Commission for Protection of Child Rights has launched an independent inquiry. State Home Minister Mama Natung and IGP P.N. Khirmey are overseeing developments. Police have registered multiple cases: Case No. 40/2025 pertains to the alleged sexual assaults, while Case Nos. 41/2025 and 42/2025 relate to the mob violence and hospital vandalism, under relevant sections of the BNS and the Prevention of Damage to Public Property (PDPP) Act.
Police sources say investigations are ongoing to verify the number of victims—estimates currently range from four to twenty—and to clarify discrepancies regarding the age of the accused.
Authorities have urged citizens to remain calm and allow due process to take its course. Internet restrictions have not been announced so far.
