TURA: Following the withdrawal of the indefinite bandh by the Garo Hills State Movement Committee (GHSMC) on Thursday evening, the NGOs of East Garo Hills have demanded that the 23 arrested activists of the GHSMC be immediately released unconditionally. “The rising tension between the Government and the leaders of the GHSMC, demanding a separate Garoland state has gone beyond the control of the District Administration after the arrest of 13 members including its general secretary on Wednesday and another 10 on Thursday. We demand that all the arrested be immediately and unconditionally released to restore peace and normalcy to the region,” the NGOs said in a statement.
Meanwhile the NGOs have also warned that they would hold a dawn to dusk bandh in the entire East Garo Hills district in the coming days if the authorities did not heed to their demands.