By Albert Thyrniang
The recent happenings in Garo Hills are saddening. If the nagging militancy, rampant extortion, militant related killings, lynching are not bad enough, the recent incidents have added to the lawlessness and chaos in the region. Where are we heading to? Will things get better in the visible future? The present scenario is dark. We do not see light at the end of the tunnel.
The recent events we are talking about started in Tura in early May when members of an NGO’s tortured a group of twelve young girls accused of prostitution. The ‘lapsed’ teenagers were taken into custody, confined in a rented house for eight days for the purpose of ‘counselling’. The matter came to light when one of the girls’ parents raised an alarm. The activists were subsequently arrested and booked under various sections of the law but not before a war of words broke out between the West Garo Hills Deputy Commissioner (DC) and women activists. While the ‘moral police personnel’ maintained that they had detained the girls after obtaining permission from the DC, the DC argued that the permission was for counselling and not for detention.
Things took an aggravating turn when a young man, Balsan Marak was arrested in connection with the torture of the 12 girls. He was allegedly tortured while in police custody and subsequently died on May 20, in a hospital. The judicial death was shocking. While the police claimed that the 20 year old Marak was involved in the torturing of the girls, the parents and relatives of the victim maintained he was completely innocent. Strongly suspecting foul play they have even decided to drag the SP of Tura to court.
A magisterial inquiry was ordered but no one has faith in it. NGOs and opposition political parties protested demanding for an independent inquiry. Educational institutions were asked to remain closed on 22nd May by agitating pressure groups. Taking advantage of the situation, militant groups jumped into the bandwagon. They served ultimatums to the government for instituting high level, CBI/NIA, inquiry into the judicial death or else face long hours of shut downs.
When the people of Garo Hills were still reeling under the heat of the Tura judicial death, another custodial death took place in Chokpot, South Garo Hills on May 28 triggering violent protests. Witson Sangma, who was arrested the previous day for having links with the militant outfit, The Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) was found dead in the police lock-up the next morning. According to the police, the reason for his death was hypertension. The unfortunate incident sparked off mass protests by local residents who were in no mood to accept the police explanation. They pelted stones and set three police vehicles ablaze. Indefinite curfew had to be imposed to restore law and order. Meanwhile, the Garo Hills based pressure groups have declared a dawn-to-dusk shut down on 2nd June to protest against the Chokpot death.
One more death followed. This time a kin of a cop was brutally murdered after unidentified armed men led him to an isolated spot in the outskirts of Tura. The cold blooded killing is suspected to be a revenge for Balsan Marak’s death as the victim’s elder brother was named by a rebel group to be one of the policemen who tortured Balsan.
So two custodial deaths and one revenge killing in eleven days or so. Law and order is on the verge of collapse. What is disturbing is that the guardians and keepers law have broken it. First, the role of the Tura DC in the torture episode is under the scanner. It is understood that he granted permission to the activists to detain and counsel the young girls who were allegedly in the flesh trade. How could he do this? Is there such a thing as counselling against one’s will? The highest officer of the district also erred in inviting journalists to visit the spot of torture. Pictures were taken liberally and tortured photographs circulated in social networking sites. This is a violation of privacy, human dignity and reputation.
The police handling of the twin cases left much to be desired. As inquiries take a long time and do not guarantee answers, questions will be asked? Balsan had wounds in his body including an ear infection while Witson suffered from hypertension? Why were they not treated first? Why were they not monitored while in the lock-up? More importantly were not the two thrashed while in custody? Granted that both had negative police records, but torture is unjustified, illegal, abuse of human rights goes against the UN convention. Sadly, the police have contributed to lawlessness. Their reputation has taken a severe beating.
In the meantime the action of the women activists was also wrong. It was a case of moral policing. It was taking law into one’s hands. Detention of alleged sex workers for counselling and torture were illegal. The photographs show the inhuman and degrading treatment to the victims that lasted for eight days. It could also be described as violating the modesty of the victims.
The pressure groups and NGOs spear-heading the agitations against the twin custodial deaths could be accused of double standards. While the custodial death have evoked wide spread condemnations including shut down of the entire Garo Hills, deaths of civilians and security forces at the hand of the militants and anti-social elements have passed almost unnoticed.
On the same day that the custodial death took place in Chokpot, a former militant was killed in cold blood by his former colleague. No NGO, pressure group or individual condemned it. The murder of the brother of a policeman in Tura met with the weakest of condemnation by one of the pressure groups leading the on-going agitation. All the rest have kept their mouth shut. The value of life is unequal.
One last observation is necessary. The recent incidents are directly or indirectly connected with militancy. The violence in Chokpot could have been instigated and orchestrated by militants and vested groups. Unless militancy ends violence will not stop. If militancy continues lawlessness will prevail. If militancy is not uprooted, law and order will suffer and peace will be a far cry. Till then we can only lament, ‘O Garo Hills, where art thou headed?’