Inquiry Commission conducts final hearing
From Our Correspondent
NONGSTOIN: The Inquiry Commission headed by Justice (Retd) PC Phukan probing the Langpih firing incident of May 14, 2010 would announce the findings of the inquiry on February 15 following completion of the final hearing held at Guwahati Circuit House on Saturday.
The hearing was attended by all the Government lawyers/advocates of both Assam Government and Meghalaya Government.
The final hearing witnessed some heated arguments over the issue by both sides of the representatives as each side tried to pin the blame onto the other side.
Lawyers representing the Assam Government staunchly defended the Assam police personnel saying that the Khasi villagers had gheraoed the Langpih Assam police battalion camp on that fateful day. The mob broke all the fencing at the battalion camp and attacked the police personnel with the intention of snatching away their weapons.
The representatives also alleged that prior to the incident members of the Khasi community had conducted a discreet meeting where clandestine planning on how to attack the police camp was chalked out.
They further told the Commission that Langpih was and has been under Assam, but the Khasi community in course of time started encroaching over it and made claims of ownership of the area.
On the other hand, the advocates representing Meghalaya Government refuted all claims and counter claims made by the Assam representatives, saying that they were untrue and baseless. They argued that the spot where the Khasi villagers were shot dead was at a distance of more than 200 meters away from the police camp, which itself was a strong proof that the Khasi villagers neither attacked nor gheraoed the Assam police battalion camp.
They also told the Commission that as per the Assam Police Rule (Act) the order for firing against the public can only be ordered by no less than a District Magistrate, whereas the Langpih firing was ordered by one Prem Singh Limbu who was merely a Platoon Commander.
The Meghalaya advocates furthered informed the Commission that Langpih area has been under dispute since the inception of Meghalaya in 1972 and till this day both sides have been staking claim over this ‘disputed’ areas.
ND Shullai, Senior Advocate of Meghalaya, also raised questions over the mysterious disappearance of Prem Singh Limbu the then Langpih platoon camp commander soon after the first hearing of Inquiry Commission. He also contested the claims made by the Assam Government that Limbu had died, saying that there is an attempt of a ‘cover up’ since the Assam side had failed to produce any medical papers to prove that Limbu had died.
“Above all the spot inquiry conducted by the Commission last year at Langpih itself is good evidence of the facts,” Shullai told the Commission.