INDIA, Dec. 9 -- The Itanagar Capital Region (ICR) district administration of Arunachal Pradesh on Monday declared the 12-hour bandh announced for December 9 by three youth organisations as illegal and unlawful, warning that any attempt to enforce the shutdown would invite strict penal action.

The Indigenous Youth Force of Arunachal (IYFA), the Arunachal Pradesh Indigenous Youth Organisation (APIYO), and the All Naharlagun Youth Organisation (ANYO) had jointly announced the bandh while continuing their agitation over what they describe as increasing illegal influx and the rising number of mosques and panjra-namas (temporary prayer structures) in the region. The groups said they had earlier submitted a charter of demands to the state gove...