By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: While the people of Tura and Williamnagar remember the victims of September 30, 2005 firing incident with prayers and tears, inaction against the erring officials is what has hurt the victims and their relatives the most.
Nine people were gunned down by security forces during a protest against shifting of the the Meghalaya Board of School Education (MBOSE) headquarters from Tura and despite spending over Rs 1.72 crore in two judicial inquiries, not a single official has been punished till date.
On the eve of the seventh anniversary of the incident, the September 30 Victims Solidarity Forum lamented the delayed justice while stating, “Not all the victims, including those who were injured, were compensated by the Government.”
“We will follow up this lack of pro active steps on the part of the Government to provide justice to the victims in the days to come”, the president of the Forum Manseng Sangma said while urging the Government to declare September 30 as a local holiday in the area.
While the report of the Tura judicial inquiry commission fixed the responsibility on some government officials including the police, the Williamnagar inquiry commission found that the NGOs had instigated the public resulting in the tragedy.
There was simultaneous police firing both in Tura in West Garo Hills and Williamnagar in East Garo Hills