Muscle flexing yet again in Ri Bhoi
NONGPOH: In a daring act of encroachment and muscle flexing by Assam inside Meghalaya territory, a posse of heavily armed Assam police commandos arrived at Madan Umwang, Ri Bhoi District in five gypsies at around 2 pm on Tuesday and demolished an under-construction building meant for rearing Eri worms under the Sericulture department of the Meghalaya government.
On November 11, the Assam government, through the SDO (Civil) of Hamren Sub Division, had ordered the Rangbah Shnong of Madan Umwang village to stop the construction of the building sponsored by the Sericulture department of Meghalaya and had even directed the in charge of Ulunkunji Outpost of Assam police to summon the Rangbah Shnong, Blikson Mukhim, to furnish all details pertaining to the construction of the building.
Following the order of the Assam government, the Rangbah Shnong had knocked the doors of the Ri Bhoi Deputy Commissioner and the KSU NKHD for intervention and for seeking security for construction of the building and also for himself.
Though the Ri Bhoi District Administration had taken up the matter and had also deployed police personnel from Mawlasnai Police Outpost to investigate the matter and to provide security in the village, the Assam police personnel managed to destroy the building which was in its final stages of completion.
The Rangbah Shnong informed that the incident occurred while he was in Nongpoh waiting to meet the deputy commissioner who was away from the district attending to some official duties.
He also claimed that Tuesday’s incident was a result of the poor response from the district administration and the district police to their demand to provide security in the village.
The district administration should take responsibility for the incident since the village authority had previously apprised the district administration concerned over the matter, especially with regards to the impending threat from the Assam side.