JOWAI: Thousands of people from various parts of Jaintia Hills joined the Wapungskur Dorbar Shnong and the Wapung Presbyterian Church in the funeral of late Derest Siangshai and Setlang Phawa, the victims of the police firing that took place on Wednesday last.
Urban Minister, Ampareen Lyngdoh and local MLA Justine Dkhar were also present during the funeral services.
The funeral services started at 12:00 noon and later both the bodies were laid to rest at the cemetery of Wapungskur Presbyterian Church.
Ampareen along with members of various NGOs placed flowers in both the coffins. The Minister also requested people to maintain peace in the area.
The mood of the gathering could be felt form a Sein Kur Phawa Siangshai banner which condemned the “brutal killing by the men in uniform.”
Home Minister, Roshan Warjri who was also at Wapungskur, visited both the victims’ families besides holding a meeting with the village elders.
The elders placed their list of demands before the Home Minister which include Rs 10 lakh compensation each to the families of both the victims, jobs to the close relatives, free education to the children of the affected families and a judicial inquiry into the incident.
The Home Minister, meanwhile, requested the village dorbar to cooperate with the government in order to maintain peace in the area.
When contacted by The Shillong Times, the Home Minister said that the demands of the relatives of the deceased were taken up with the Chief Minister after she returned from Khliehriat on Friday night.
The Government has already paid the standard ex-gratia of Rs 3 lakh each to the victims’ families, Warjri said.