TURA: Curfew was relaxed in troubled Chokpot region of South Garo Hills for eight hours on Saturday as no untoward incident was reported in the last 24 hours since Thursday’s mob attack on the police station over a custodial death.
The district administration lifted curfew in the militancy affected Chokpot region from 9 am to 5 pm on Saturday to allow people to make necessary purchases and bring a semblance of normalcy to the area which witnessed violent attack on the police station by several hundred people who went on a rampage burning down three police vehicles and three civilian motorbikes in anger over the death of a suspected militant collaborator inside the lock up.
“No untoward incidents were reported from anywhere and things are slowly getting back to normal. We are hoping to relax curfew from 7 am to 7 pm on Sunday,” informed Deputy Commissioner in charge T.G. Momin to the media. He, however, added that night curfew would remain in place.
Meanwhile, the body of Witson M Sangma, who died inside police lock up on Wednesday night, was handed over to his family with the help of Church elders and NGOs on Saturday for the last rites.
Post mortem on the deceased was carried out at Baghmara on Friday by doctors including a forensic expert, it was informed.
District police chief, Lakador Syiem, expressed his gratitude to the NGOs and Church elders particularly the United Christian Peace Forum for their assistance in bringing the situation to calm.
“We are thankful to the citizens of the district in calming the situation. The NGOs, UCPF and concerned citizens of the area helped in all ways possible to make it happen,” said Syiem.
The police chief has also expressed disappointment that no one came forward to condemn the cold blooded execution of a former militant worker by the GNLA on the same day that Witson Sangma had died.
“The former over ground worker of GNLA, Sengran Marak, was dragged out of his home and shot in cold blood in front of his wife and ailing young son at Daji Badima village of Chokpot. Yet, no one has even condemned it. I am very saddened,” said Syiem.
The GNLA had accused Sengran of working for the police and blamed him for the death of their training instructor Kram Sangma who was killed by police.
Fearing for his life and on the advice of his family he seldom stayed at home but unfortunately, on that fateful night he had returned home with medicines for his young ailing son when the militants struck.
“Sengran never worked for us. The GNLA militant Kram was killed by police based on our own intelligence inputs. An innocent man who had a family was killed in cold blood,” lamented the SP.