By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: The State Police is under scanner for allegedly adopting different yardsticks while handling infiltrators apprehended by the BSF while crossing over to India from Bangladesh.
It has been alleged that the State Police would immediately register a case if local Khasi villagers are apprehended while crossing over to India from Bangladesh.
“But surprisingly, the police do not bother to register any case against any Bangladeshi infiltrator apprehended by the BSF. The only action they take is to push them back inside Bangladesh territory without properly inquiring about their antecedents,” sources informed on Sunday.
Sources also alleged that police do not bother to take the arrested Bangladeshis to any police station but simply put them in their vehicles and take them to Dawki from where they are pushed back into Bangladesh.
Sources alleged that these Bangladeshi nationals who are apprehended by the BSF could potentially be more dangerous to the State and the country than the local villagers since they could be members of Pakistani intelligence agency ISI or belong to some militant group.
Citing a recent case, sources said that three Khasi youths from Darang (Paila Tynsong, M Khonglah and Edamon Kongwang) were apprehended by the BSF from Pyrdiwah on Friday last on suspicion of being HNLC militants and handed over to the State police who forced the three youths to hold AK-47 rifles.
“It is, however, difficult to ascertain the intention of the police in asking the three Khasi villagers to hold guns,” the sources added.
When contacted, Darang Rangbah Shnong, Hermon Ryngksai, dismissed BSF and police claims that the three youths were HNLC members.
“Since they belong to my village, I know all of them personally. I was shocked when I was informed by the Pynursla police station Officer-in-Charge (OC) that the BSF have alleged that they are suspected HNLC members,” Ryngksai said.
He informed that the three youths had actually visited Synrem village, a Khasi populated village in Bangladesh, and while they were returning back they were apprehended by the BSF.
“Since ancient times, villagers on both sides of the border have been visiting each other without any valid passport,” the Rangbah Shnong said.
Ryngksai also alleged that despite his confirmation about the boys being innocent, the police did not release them but instead sent them to Shillong, saying that they were acting under ‘pressure from the top’.
Police sources have meanwhile denied that they were adopting two different yardsticks while handling infiltrators who cross over to India from Bangladesh without any valid documents.
“Whenever we get any infiltrator handed over by the BSF we always register a case under Section 14 of the Foreigner Act, 1946. We push the Bangladeshi infiltrators back to Bangladesh only after receiving the order from the court. We have never pushed any Bangladeshi on our own,” the police sources claimed.
When asked if the police had really made the three Khasi youths pose with AK-47 rifles during their interrogation, the police sources said, “Since they were suspected to be militants, there are possibilities that the police might have asked them to hold AK-47 rifles to know whether they could identify the weapon.
“It is not true that police forced the three youths to hold AK-47 rifles,” the police sources said, while informing that the three boys have been booked under the Foreigner Act since they were caught while crossing over to India without any valid documents.
“We have no evidence so far to prove that they are HNLC cadres,” the police sources added.