TURA: The banned GNLA outfit has denied assaulting innocent villagers and accused Meghalaya Police of conducting propaganda to defame the outfit before the rest of the country by selective leaking of portions of the video in which armed men are seen severely assaulting a group of villagers with sticks and canes.
The video had gone viral on the internet and television channels had beamed it across the country as police termed the attack as brutality of militants in the Garo Hills.
“A meeting was held in the school playground with the entire village present to try seven persons accused of extortion and another two suspected to be police informers in a fast track court. We had wanted to shoot them but decided against it following an appeal by the village elders,” claimed GNLA senior cadre and former policeman Savio Ch Marak.
He claimed that the accused were using the name of GNLA to extort from villagers and two others were alleged to be collaborating with police.
“Seven of the accused were identified by a village elder as the group which had demanded Rs. 2.5 lakh and another Rs. 50 lakh from a well-known contractor of Rongjeng. GNLA has its own code of criminal procedures which clearly lays down that accused person should get a fair trial in accordance with accepted principals of natural justice to ensure a fair trial,” claimed the GNLA in a communiqué to The Shillong Times.
The outfit has claimed that the entire village participated in the fast tract court set up by the organization and the accused had pleaded guilty for their ‘crimes’.
“GNLA passed an order sentencing them to death but after due consultation with the elders it was commuted to rigorous punishment acceding to the villagers’ mercy petition. We have evidence in support of the prosecution and the whole proceedings were videographed,” mentioned the banned outfit whose cadres assaulted the nine accused with canes and sticks until they fell unconscious.
Accusing senior police officer G.H.P. Raju of falsifying the contents of the video, Savio said, “The video was sent to a journalist. However that video reached IG Raju and police made business out of it.”
The outfit has justified the canning of the nine persons and mentioned that “GNLA has sent a right and strong message to all rank and file of such criminals who are taking the name of the organization for extortion, dacoity, kidnapping and also to those who are agents of police.”