The other day a live grenade was found in the spare tyre of a supporter of the Congress candidate in Shillong West constituency. This was followed by the torching of a house in Jaintia Hills on account of political differences. On Sunday, Jonathone N Sangma, the NCP candidate from Williamnagar, Garo Hills was killed in an IED blast along with his security guards while campaigning at Samanda. Before that Jonathone had been warned by unknown groups not to contest elections. Posters with sign of blood and bullets warning voters not to vote Jonathone Sangma were nailed to trees in the constituency. That no one has any clue as to who put up these posters and no action is taken against any individual or group as yet shows the absence of actionable intelligence to halt violence and bring in a climate where voters feel safe to come out and vote.
In the 2013 elections too, Jonathone Sangma had filed an FIR against a rival candidate alleging that the person was using militants to intimidate him. He was provided security provided by the government. Since it is a known fact that the only militant outfit with fire power in Garo Hills today is the Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) led by Sohan Shira it can be safely assumed that the intimidation to Jonathone Sangma came from them. While the GNLA was not as active as it used to be and some of its cadres had surrendered, the fact remains that Sohan Shira continues to be a slippery customer and all attempts to arrest him have proven futile. So it appears that Sohan’s military intelligence is one up on that of the police. At this rate when will the law catch up with this militant leader? And how many more lives will be lost in the process? The Meghalaya Police itself has suffered several casualties from the outfit. And election time is also when militant outfits come out of the woodwork to extort money from candidates by offering to help them canvass without a hitch or by warning people not to vote for the rival candidate. Either way, elections in militant infested areas are treacherous and the fact that Williamnagar constituency is not sanitised is dangerous for the intending candidates.