Arunachal Pradesh-based environmental activist Bhanu Tatak was stopped by immigration authorities from boarding a flight to Ireland at the Delhi airport on Sunday based on a lookout circular issued against her by the state police, The Indian Express reported.

The circular is used by law enforcement authorities to check whether a person leaving the country is wanted by the police.

Tatak, a legal adviser to the Siang Indigenous Farmers’ Forum, was scheduled to attend a three-month academic programme at Dublin City University beginning Monday, The Telegraph reported.

The lookout circular is linked to a first information report registered in June in connection with a protest against the proposed 11,500 MW Siang Upper Multipurpose Project in Arunachal Pradesh.

On May 27, during a protest against the project in Boleng town, demonstrators disrupted a visit by the local MLA and state minister Ojing Tasing. The situation escalated into a confrontation, and a woman was reportedly injured as the minister was escorted out under security.

Inspector General of Police (Law and Order) Chukhu Apa confirmed that there is a lookout circular for Tatak, stating that the activist faces “10 to 12 cases” for her alleged role in inciting violence during the protests, including leading “mobs” and encouraging physical confrontation with the minister, The Indian Express reported.

The protesters contend that the massive hydroelectric dam, which is one of the largest proposed in India, threatens to displace over 1.5 lakh persons and submerge at least 27 villages in the Siang Valley.

At a press conference in Delhi on August 2, Tatak and Mili had criticised the Arunachal Pradesh government for allegedly pushing the project without the consent of the persons affected by it, The Telegraph reported.

Reacting to being stopped from travelling abroad, Tatak said that she was safe but deeply saddened by the turn of events.

She described the travel ban as part of an “arbitrary abuse of administrative power”, which she claimed was increasingly being normalised in India under pressure from corporate interests.

Such actions risk undermining the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution, she said on social media.

Tatak said she had not been informed of possible restrictions to her travels and that she did not know there was a lookout notice for her. “In fact I’m shocked to learn of the extent of false accusations against me,” she added.

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