Newmai News Network
SHILLONG, SEPTEMBER 14
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he sleepy hamlet of Pakregre in Garo Hills, Meghalaya was suddenly thrust into the national limelight after a video surfaced showing the inhuman beatings by Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) cadres given to villagers in the presence of nearly the whole village. While the villagers themselves were shy and fearful of providing details of what exactly transpired on the September 4, 2014, a few came forward to give the real version of the events that occurred.
While the police maintained that the civilians were beaten on the allegation of being police informers, the village differed, saying that most were involved in extortion in the name of GNLA and two were alleged informers. While most of them have recovered from the severe beatings, three of them are still bed ridden from the assault.The village which comprises close to 300 households and about 2600 people is primarily agrarian and is about 7 km from the town of Rongjeng in the East Garo Hills district, connected through a PMGSY road, which itself is another story. The village itself is about 15 sq km and provides the perfect place for keeping watch over a vast terrain, which explains why the militants kept coming back. The place is a junction for most militants as one has to pass through the village to go to other secure locations.
According to the villagers, 22 of the men from GNLA were staying in a house, 2 km from where a police security camp now stands. They were there before the police raid of August 29, 2014 and came back after the police left. A total of 9 people were severely beaten by the outfit with canes, some of which broke due to the severity of the thrashing. Three of the 9 are still bed ridden due to the beatings received. The police team had launched another operation in the village on September 9 in which a GNLA cadre Bestfield Marak was killed and police got a hold of the video.
“They held a meeting in the school playground with almost the whole village present. 7 of the 9 had been into the extortion business and two others were suspected police informers. They even wanted to shoot five from the group but the villagers asked them not to and they acceded”, said an elderly resident of the village.
“They had demanded money from me and we were all aware of their activities. The 7 involved had asked me for Rs 2.5 lakhs and had even demanded Rs 50 lakhs from a well known contractor in Rongjeng. It was only on this information that they started beating these people up. It seems that someone set up the other two saying that they were police informers though they have never been such,” added another resident of the village, stating also that there had been misbehaviour from the outfit.
A police camp comprising a full platoon is now in place to ensure security for the village besides preventing those militants who managed to escape from returning. The village still wears a coat of fear that will take time to heal after the horrific incidents that have transpired.
