From Our Correspondent
TURA: The Garo Students’ Union (GSU) has filed an FIR against the Selsella Block Development Officer (BDO) for allegedly tearing off posters which had demanded his removal over allegations of corruption.
The Selsella unit of the GSU filed the FIR against Dr D Roy with Selsella police outpost on Wednesday afternoon “for violating their democratic rights of peaceful protest by tearing off the posters in Selsella on Tuesday evening”.
The FIR was filed by Selsella GSU general secretary Lindrid T Sangma after villagers came forward to report an incident about posters being torn on the Selsella-Kalchengpara road allegedly by the BDO and his driver a day earlier.
The reported incident is believed to have taken place on Tuesday evening when the officer was returning from the block office and noticed the posters accusing him of corruption.
“The BDO has violated our fundamental rights of peaceful protest by indulging in such practices. We will seek action against him,” informed GSU leader Rupa Marak to The Shillong Times.
He added that a copy of the FIR has been given to the government through the Sub-Divisional Police Officer of Dadenggre sub-division, R Kumar, IPS, for speedy action.
Following the incident, several dozen student volunteers and women folk under the banner of Selsella Mothers’ Union joined the two-day office picketing of the block called by the GSU that began on Wednesday.
They refused to allow the BDO to attend to his office duties and demanded his immediate removal.
The office picketing by the GSU has been supported by the Federation of Khasi, Jaintia and Garo People (FKJGP), the A’chik Youth Welfare Organization (AYWO), mothers union of Selsella, nokmas and village elders.
The NGOs are demanding the reinstatement of former Selsella BDO Albert G Momin, MCS, who was removed unceremoniously by the government after spending less than five months on the job. He had assumed charge of the block ahead of the elections after the Election Commission removed Dr Roy for allegedly having a political nexus.
In 2006 the Meghalaya Government was compelled to remove Dr Roy after he was allegedly found involved in the Garo Hills block scam wherein several lakhs of rupees were siphoned off from each development block by several BDOs. The scandal led to the resignation of the then C&RD Minister Late Beckstar K Sangma and removal of as many as six BDOs in the then three districts of Garo Hills.
Attempts to scuttle block protest
Meanwhile, the GSU has accused political interference to scuttle their ongoing protest demanding removal of Dr Roy.
“A group of Youth Congress members tried to make us withdraw our strike on Wednesday citing disruption of the block functioning. We clarified to them that ours is a democratic protest aimed at removing tainted officials and made them see reason,” said GSU leader Rupa Marak.