TURA: A 19-year-old girl was among three teenagers who were assaulted by police commandos in civilian dress in Tura circuit house area leading a public outcry against highhandedness by the men in uniform.
The incident took place on Tuesday at around 3:30 pm when the two police personnel came in a private car towards the circuit house road. They reportedly whipped out their pistols and began to assault two 16-year-old boys one of whom was waiting for his mother and elder sister to go shopping for Christmas to Tura bazaar.
The two police commandos tried to forcibly drag away one of the teenage boys in the car and on hearing cries for help the family rushed out to rescue him only to be threatened by the armed policemen who are alleged to have been drunk.
The 19-year-old sister of the boy Tangkame R Sangma was punched on the face by one of the commandos when she tried to rescue her younger brother from the clutches of the two armed personnel.
“My brother had just come from school with the annual report card and had lunch early because we had planned to go shopping to the market. He had just gone to the top of the road when he was attacked by the two armed men who we did not even know was police personnel,” narrated Tangkame.
“When they tried to drag my younger brother into the vehicle I hugged him and refused to let go. At this juncture one of the commandos threatened to shoot me unless I let go. I refused so he hit me on my shoulders and then punched me on my face,” said the victim who was later taken to hospital for medical treatment.
It was only later that the additional SP, B A Sangma, arrived to intervene in the matter. One of the attackers is alleged to be part of his security detail.
The assaulted woman has filed a police complaint against her attackers in Araimile police station and the case has been forwarded to the women’s cell.
To make matters worse, police personnel from the Tura police station allegedly refused to allow the girl to file another complaint against the snatching of her brother’s phone by one of the two attackers who did not return the device.
West Garo Hills district SP, Mukesh Kr Singh, when contacted claimed that the two police personnel were detailed for ‘special’ duty in the area to look out for suspected movement of militants. “They spotted some boys in camouflage and tried to question them when the altercation took place in which our boys sustained some injuries. One of them had damage to his fingers,” claimed the police chief.
Interestingly, the two cops who allegedly took part in the attack filed a counter FIR against the girl and the other two victims at the Tura police station on Tuesday night.