13 activists arrested

The State Government has finally cracked the whip on the Garoland agitators by arresting 13 activists including their most vocal leader Augustine Marak on Wednesday.

However, the supporters of the Garo state movement called an indefinite bandh from Thursday 5 am for the failure of police to release them.

The incident of vandalism on Tuesday took place at a time when West Garo Hills Deputy Commissioner Pravin Bakshi is out of station.

The Deputy Commissioner informed that five very influential NGOs have conveyed to him that they would field their own volunteers to stop vandalism and check the activities of miscreants during the indefinite bandh.

The Deputy Commissioner also took exception to the assault on the female staff of his office and even alleged that they were molested.

Besides Augustine others who were arrested include Salgira Marak , Willing Marak, Daniel Sangma, Tengkrang Sangma, Henwork Sangma of Krishnai Assam, Chonki Marak, Moti Sangma, Dikki Marak , Chonglong Sangma, Robert Sangma, Salman Sangma and Rottan Marak.

The arrest of Augustine and the dozen other activists from Assam Oil Corporation (AOC) area of Tura comes a day after the district administration was caught off guard when hordes of Garoland bandh enforcers bulldozed their way into the Tura DC’s Office and allegedly manhandled the government employees and pelted stones on magistrates.

A senior office assistant of the DRDA department was reportedly assaulted while a lady employee was manhandled and another female worker locked inside a room by the statehood activists.

Occupants of a Tata Nano was also reported to have been assaulted near Araimile locality of Tura during the first day of the Garoland bandh on Tuesday.

Tura police arrested the Garoland state movement committee leader Augustine and 12 others from Tura after they were reportedly caught harassing people and stopping vehicular traffic at AOC area of the Town.

“We caught them on Wednesday while they were preventing people’s movement and also for blocking vehicular traffic after they had committed a major crime on Tuesday by forcibly entering the DC’s Office,” said a Tura police official.

Around 150 supporters went in procession on Wednesday demanding the unconditional release of those who were detained by the police.

They were not allowed to enter the office of the Deputy Commissioner as Section 144 CrPC had already been imposed.

They , however, submitted a memorandum to the authorities which said that those who were arrested should be released within an hour.

However, the arrested activists confessed to the vandalism and it was video graphed by the police. They also revealed to the police who incited the violence and the leaders behind. Police have forwarded all the 13 to judicial custody.

Meanwhile, police have contradicted the reports that a woman from Mumbai who was travelling on Tuesday to Tura from Guwhati was molested by the protestors during the bandh. According to police, the woman who was travelling in a Toyota Innova was cautioned by the travellers at Rajapara and police also stopped her at Bajengdoba telling her not to proceed to Tura due to the prevailing situation.

However, while she was proceeding, miscreants stopped her vehicle in Tura and assaulted her. The woman, however, did not file any FIR or insisted for medical examination.

Later, police provided escort and dropped her at Guwahati on Tuesday evening.

DC condemns attack: The West Garo Hills Deputy Commissioner Pravin Bakshi has condemned the attack on his office by separate statehood activists who, according to the DC even molested women employees.

In a statement issued here on Wednesday, Pravin Bakshi said, ” The pre-meditated , pre-planned and cowardly attack on the office of the Deputy Commissioner , West Garo Hills , Tura and office of the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) , Tura is very strongly condemned by me and all my staff .”

“The verbal abuse, manhandling of even women staff is a horrifying and most reprehensible act on part of the proponents for the hills state movement and It is very disheartening to observe that now these vandals and criminals have decided that they shall attack and intimidate women and outrage their modesty, assault and threaten innocent persons for their objective ,” Bakshi said.

The Deputy Commissioner also asserted that many civil societies, NGOs, church leaders, politicians and religious heads have condemned the recent incident.

According to Bakshi, the intolerable act invites penal action of the relevant sections of the law for criminal trespass, criminal intimidation, threatening with dire consequences, assault and disruption of functioning of government servants and appropriate action will be taken .

As Chairman of the District Level Committee for prevention of atrocities against women , Bakshi has taken suo moto notice of the assault on women employees and criminal intimidation of many to the extent that many of the women staff broke down and started crying .

“These acts have totally and irreversibly discredited the movement in the eyes of the public as the enforcers now have started cowardly attacking even women,” he said.

He asserted that the attack was also communal in nature whic

h is all the more worrying and shameful.

“Is this how a movement is run by assaulting women and forcing school children to participate in dangerous agitations,” he said.

Deputy Commissioner who is camping in Shillong for meetings of flagship programmes and schemes has held leaders and office bearers responsible for the attacks .I shall be having a meeting with my staff as soon as I come back and we shall decide the future course of action,” Bakshi said.

The additional district magistrate has been asked to lodge FIR in the case under relevant sections of the law, adding in future no permissions for any demonstrations, sit-ins , dharnas or NCM shall be given to the organizers of such heinous attacks on women and for all violence law will take its own course .

“We have informed our higher authorities and we plan to inform State Women’s Commission and National Women’s Commission on the incident,” he added.