Public take to streets; camp pelted with stones; shops closed
TURA: The camp of a Central Reserve Police Force company on poll duty in North Garo Hills was stoned by an angry crowd at Mendipathar town on Friday afternoon after an alleged attempt by a junior officer in the camp to misbehave with a woman.
The situation was brought under control when the district police intervened and promised to lodge an FIR against the guilty CRPF officer and arrest him.
The genesis of the trouble was on Thursday night when Jagdish Singh, a sub-inspector from the CRPF camp, located at the indoor stadium premises near the main road, got out of the camp and went to a house occupied by a family in Mendipathar market, asking for some drinking water.
The CRPF official allegedly caught hold of the woman’s hand while she was handing him a glass of water and tried to misbehave with her. But the accused returned to the camp when the woman objected to his behavior. The same CRPF official returned to the house on Friday afternoon and once again tried to repeat his attempt when the woman along with her husband raised an alarm.
Neighbours caught hold of the accused and were taking him to the Mendipathar police station when a group of CRPF jawans snatched the sub-inspector away into their camp. The jawans also dragged one of the assembled people, Bajrang Baswan, inside the camp and began to assault him when an angry mob surrounded the camp and began to pelt stones demanding that they hand over the abducted civilian and the guilty official.
With shops downing their shutters throughout the market and the angry mob swelling in numbers, the district police chief along with state police personnel arrived on the scene to pacify the public. They also rescued the abducted civilian.
“The situation has returned to normal and we will be arresting the guilty officer against whom an FIR is being filed,” district Superintendent of Police J F K Marak said. The company, based in Goalpara, Assam, was due to leave Garo Hills on Saturday.
Asked about his opinion on errant behaviours by paramilitary force personnel posted on temporary duties in the Northeast region, retired Meghalaya DGP L. Sailo said over the phone from Aizawl that some “bad elements” among paramilitary force personnel sometimes tried to take advantage of the “simple minds” of tribal people.
“In other parts of the country, a man servant would have gone to hand over the glass of water, but here a woman went. In tribal societies, no one can think this kind of behaviour can take place,” Sailo said. “Before deployment, paramilitary force personnel are sensitized, but there are black sheep in every organization.”
Several organizations have demanded arrest of the sub-inspector and those involved in the abduction and assault of the civilian. Among them are the Merchants’ Association of Mendipathar, Garo Students’ Union, FKJGP, FAF, AYWO and the College Students’ Union.