From Our Correspondent
WILLIAMNAGAR: A magisterial inquiry has been ordered into last week’s killing of three ANVC (B) cadres by the police.
The ANVC (B) leaders and the villagers had cited foul play in the operations of the police against the militants and termed the killings as ‘fake encounter’.
An official said that Dr WCR Marak, the Extra Assistant Commissioner of Rongjeng, will probe the killing of the ANVC (B) cadres. The magisterial inquiry was ordered on Tuesday.
It was on Friday last that the SWAT commandos of the State Police gunned down three cadres of the militant outfit in an alleged encounter at Dobu, Chitingbang village in East Garo Hills District. Police claimed that there were six to eight militants holed up in a house out of which three were gunned down after a fierce gun battle while the rest fled to the jungle. The villagers who witnessed the episode, however, have a different story to tell contradicting that of the police.
According to a villager there were only three cadres who were visitors at the time of the incident. The villager stated that the trio regularly visited the house to cook food, eat and recharge their mobile phones after which they would leave.
On that fateful day at around 5:45 am, the trio had come to the house as usual and was resting when the SWAT commandos surrounded the house and opened indiscriminate fire killing the trio, informed the villager who added that not a single shot was fired by the militants as alleged by the police.
On Wednesday, the general secretary and vice president of the Garo Hills Sentinel for Human Rights (GHSHR), Lalnunthari D Shira and Marilyn D Shira, visited the village with media persons when the villagers reiterated that SWAT commandos had indiscriminately fired at the house killing the trio and destroyed everything in the house.
They had earlier met East Garo Hills Deputy Commissioner V K Mantri who assured that a magisterial probe would be initiated and compensation given to the owner of the house.
