By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: In the name of checking influx, several commuters were allegedly assaulted and made to suffer as they were made to frog- jump and hold their ears by some KSU members at Mawryngkneng in East Khasi Hills on Friday morning, police said.
East Khasi Hills SP M Kharkrang informed that seven KSU activists were arrested in connection with the case.
According to eye witnesses, the harassed persons included staff of banks besides businessmen and tourists.
The eye witnesses said that the incident took place at 11:10 am after the KSU members stopped the vehicles, mostly sumos and buses plying through Mawryngkneng and asked the occupants of the vehicle whether they were indigenous or non indigenous people.
A total of around 400 people were asked to disembark from their vehicles.
However, president of KSU Mawryngkneng unit, Wanlambok Kharsati, said that it was after getting information that a lot of illegal migrants were traveling in sumos and night buses to go to Jainitia Hills, the KSU members with the police intercepted them.
“After detecting the migrants who were without any valid documents and hailing either from Assam or Bangladesh, we have handed them over to police,” he said.
Kharsati also denied allegations that they had asked the people to frog jump.
“The allegations of assault and harassment by vested interests is to divert the attention and to malign the image of the students’ body,” he claimed.
The KSU leader also demanded the immediate release of its members.
According to Kharsati, the unit would hold discussions with the Central body on the matter to chalk out the next course of action.
The students’ body revealed that police themselves had gone along with the KSU members to check the work permit of the passengers but ‘surprisingly, after filing the FIR police arrested the KSU members’.
According to the student leader, it was in fact the KSU members who had informed the police to come to the spot to detect the illegal migrants.
The KSU also flayed the government for not taking any pro active steps to contain the influx of people from Bangladesh and Nepal.
However, the eye witnesses informed that after stopping the vehicle, the members segregated the indigenous and non indigenous people and started checking the documents of the non-tribals for verification.
A private bank official posted at Lad Rymbai was caned below the knee after he tried to use his cell phone.
Though the KSU members asked for work permit, the bank official could produce only his Pan Card.
Even after showing the Pan Card, the youths insisted that he should provide work permit and other valid documents.
Meanwhile, according to a late report, the seven KSU members who were arrested in connection with the case have been released from police custody on Thursday night.