Probe ordered by magistrate and police into twin allegations
TURA: Two separate investigations have been ordered by the West Garo Hills district administration and police after a group calling itself ‘Legal Rights Observatory’ wrote to the government alleging persecution of the minority Hindus during recent puja celebrations.
The first allegation of the observatory was about extortion levelled against NGOs relating to the annual celebration of Kamakhya Puja, locally known as Charantala Mela.
The observatory, in its letter to the Deputy Commissioner and the Superintendent of Police of West Garo Hills, mentioned that hHindus were barred from celebrating the annual Kamakhya Puja at Chandabhui village of Dalu, close to the border with Bangladesh, due to stiff opposition from the NGOs who further forced the puja organisers to part with sixty thousand rupees as protection money.
In its second complaint, the observatory alleged that Hindus preparing to celebrate Viswakarma Puja at Akonggre locality of town had to shift the puja venue after opposition by a local woman’s group from the town.
“Both incidents occurred in a district headed by professional, competent IPS and IAS officers as SP and DC. The notorious NGO culture of Meghalaya is virtually ruling on ground and state civil and police administration is turning a blind eye,” alleged the Legal Rights Observatory as it called for a ban and blacklisting of the NGOs and their leaders.
While the deputy commissioner, Ram Singh, has ordered enquiries by magistrates into the two separate incidents as alleged by the LRO, the district police headed by MGR Kumar has also ordered a comprehensive and confidential enquiry into the matter by a gazetted officer to verify the veracity of the claims.
Interestingly, it is worth mentioning that the allegations levelled by the Legal Rights Observatory appeared to be flawed to some extent.
While the observatory claims there was opposition to the Charantala Mela at Chandabhui village of Dalu, facts indicate the annual Charantala Mela takes place at Babetpara in Selsella region, not Dalu.
Similarly, the report of opposition to Viswakarma puja celebration at Akonggre locality is said to be factually incorrect since there was no celebration of the same. The Sepoy Colony in Akonggre celebrated the Durga Puja with their own puja mandap for the first time, this year.