Shillong violence: Judicial panel to probe former militant’s ‘killing’

Shillong, Aug. 16 (IANS/PTI/EMN): The Meghalaya government on Monday decided to order a judicial inquiry into a former militant leader’s “killing”, which triggered violence, including stone-pelting and arson in Shillong on Sunday, officials said.

An official said that the state cabinet, in its meeting, decided to constitute a judicial inquiry under the Commission of Inquiry Act, to look into the events that took place on the morning hours of August 13.

He said that apart from the judicial enquiry, the cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister, Conrad K Sangma also decided to set up a peace committee, which would be led by Deputy Chief Minister, Prestone Tynsong with Ministers Hamletson Dohling and Renikton Tongkhar Lyngdoh as members.

“The committee will co-opt other members from the civil society including religious organisations and other stakeholders. At the same time, keeping in mind the overall situation that is still prevailing in Shillong, the cabinet decided that the curfew, which was promulgated on Sunday night, would be extended till 5 a.m. on Wednesday,” the official said.

He said that the ban on mobile internet data services in four districts is also extended for the next 24 hours.

At the cabinet meeting, it was also decided to constitute a sub-committee headed by the chief minister to look into the different aspects of law and order. The deputy chief minister and home minister would be the members of the committee.

Demanding a judicial inquiry into the Shillong violence, Meghalaya Home Minister Lahkmen Rymbui had resigned on Sunday night.

In his resignation letter to the chief minister, he said that he was shocked at the killing of the banned Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council’s former leader Chesterfield Thangkhiew, following the police raid at his residence “exceeding the lawful tenets of the law”.

A series of violent incidents swept Shillong and its outskirts on Sunday leading to the Independence Day celebrations being held in a very low-key manner.

A police official said that the protesters, who took out protest marches with black flags in Shillong on Sunday accused the police for “killing Thangkhiew in the name of an encounter” early on Friday.

A mob pelted stones on security forces and the protesting youths drove the police vehicle belonging to the Mawkynroh police outpost around the city with black flags and set it ablaze subsequently.

Police personnel, on board of the vehicle, including the officer-in-charge of the outpost, managed to escape, but the protesters reportedly took away the weapons of the fleeing policemen.

Stones were also hurled at Sangma’s private residence.

Friday’s “encounter” in which Thangkhiew was killed came three days after the HNLC triggered an IED blast at Shillong’s Laitumkhrah market, injuring two persons, including a woman, and damaging nearby buildings.

Following the death of Thangkhiew, who was a founding leader of the HNLC before surrendering to the government in 2018, the Meghalaya Human Right Commission has also taken suo motu cognisance and asked the Chief Secretary to submit a detailed report on the incident within 15 days, failing which the commission would conduct a probe on its own.

Meanwhile, Assam’s Special Director General of Police G P Singh said in Guwahati that in view of the curfew imposed in Shillong, people from Assam are advised not to travel there.

CRPF vehicle attacked in Meghalaya capital amid curfew

A vehicle carrying CRPF personnel was attacked by protesters in Mawlai area here during curfew hours, prompting security forces to resort to mild force for dispersing the crowd, police said on Monday.

The state government has imposed a curfew in Shillong and banned mobile internet services in at least four districts, as vandalism and arson rocked the state capital and nearby areas on Independence Day during the funeral procession of a former militant.

The attack on the CRPF vehicle took place hours after unidentified miscreants hurled petrol bombs at the residence of Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma late on Sunday, they said.

Acting on reports of a large number of youths burning tyres in the middle of the road in Mawlai area, CRPF personnel rushed to the area. The agitators pelted stones at their vehicle, prompting the personnel to use mild force to disperse the crowd, a senior district police officer told PTI.

He said a vehicle belonging to a vernacular media house was damaged and its driver suffered injuries during lathicharge by CRPF jawans.

Meghalaya Home Minister Lahkmen Rymbui had resigned on Sunday amid violence in Shillong over the police shooting of the former militant. Rymbui also urged the CM to institute a judicial inquiry into the shooting of Cheristerfield Thangkhiew, the self-styled general secretary of the banned Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council.

EHWF condemns killing; demands further enquiry

Expressing their concern over the disturbing state of affairs in North East India, especially in Meghalaya, the Eastern Himalayan Women Forum stated that the space for freedom of expression in the civil society is becoming very repressive.

An update from the forum on Monday informed that it was only a few years back that an RTI activist from the Jaintia Hills was killed by an unidentified person. Unfortunately, the perpetrators are not yet arrested and a case is pending in the court.

In yet another gruesome incident on August 13, Cheristerfield Thangkheiw was killed in front of his family members, where family members stated his killing was a fake encounter because he was sick due to his kidney problem. He could not even walk on the staircase. The forum suspects that the victim was captured first and then killed in front of his own brother and other family members.

‘On humanitarian ground, such acts of security forces are unacceptable. Therefore, we condemn such act of hate and discrimination’, it said.

In this regard, the forum demanded to know if there was any forensic expert present, when the dead body was sent to the hospital and the forensic report to be made public.

‘We urge for the establishment of an Independent Commission chaired by the Justice of the Supreme Court of India with two more experts including a woman to fully investigate the killing. We demand all the police personnel including the immediate command to be suspended until the report of the investigation is submitted and action is taken by the court. Postmortem report and death certificate should be immediately given to the family members and the police should compensate the family members immediately as relief for the suffering of the family”, it added.