MP meets HDR, wants time-bound judicial probe
SHILLONG/TURA: Tura MP Conrad Sangma has asked Home Minister HDR Lyngdoh to transfer all senior officials from North Garo Hills to facilitate free and fair inquiry into Monday night’s police firing that injured three persons.
Sangma, who met Lyngdoh on Wednesday, demanded that the government should pay for the medical expenses of the injured, besides compensation.
The MP visited North Garo Hills on Tuesday and met the injured persons at International Hospital, Guwahati. He told The Shillong Times on phone from Guwahati that the judicial inquiry into the incident should be time-bound.
Sangma said many a time inquiries continue for years without any tangible outcome. “Judicial probe should be free and fair and it should be time-bound otherwise people will lose fate in the system. Look at the Kharkutta inquiry, nothing has happened,” Sangma said late on Tuesday night and demanded strict action against the guilty.
In November 2015, the government had ordered a magisterial probe after army personnel mistakenly shot two civilians in Kharkutta in North Garo Hills.
In a similar incident of mistaken identity, the police on Monday night shot at a vehicle that was ferrying small-time arecanut traders and injured the driver and two passengers. The government ordered a judicial inquiry after the issue came up in the Assembly on Tuesday.
The police firing triggered public outrage leading to vandalism.
Allegations of extortion
Sangma said the outburst against police in Resubelpara was because of illegal collection of money. “The crux of the problem is extortion on National Highway 62 and certain individuals in the department are involved,” he added.
The parliamentarian alleged that public transport operators were compelled to pay ‘hafta’ (weekly payment) to police at various check points on the national highway. Recently, police personnel seized a bag of areca nut as compensation after the driver refused to pay, Sangma said and added that strict action should be taken again the cops involved in Monday night’s incident.
The Garo Hills State Movement Committee also claimed that there were complaints of extortion by police. The group’s chairman, Nikman Ch Marak, in a press statement issued on Wednesday, said the government should make the names of the erring police personnel public.
“Who authorises them (the police) to collect money from the public? Are they trained to extort money for the government or don’t they get salary? They are arrogant and most of the personnel from top to bottom are corrupt and the elected authority is manipulated by their corrupt law enforcing agency,” said Marak in the press communiqué.
The group also set a three-day deadline for the government to take stringent action against the policemen failing which “it will resort to agitation in the entire Garo Hills”.
CM statement
Chief Minister Mukul Sangma said he has sent a team comprising Parliamentary Secretary Cherak Momin and Marthon Sangma to North Garo Hills to take a stock of the situation and send him a brief on it. He said one of the injured persons underwent surgery successfully and the two other injured persons are out of danger.
Normalcy returns
Normalcy has returned to Resubelpara and no untoward incidents have been reported in the last 48 hours. Additional security forces, including CRPF, have been deployed. Garo Hills IGP H. Nongpluh visited Resubelpara and met the district police chief on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, local MLA and chairman of the State Planning Board Salseng C. Marak met church leaders, NGOs and government officials on Wednesday. He was accompanied by Kharkutta MLA Cherak Momin.
Marak also held a meeting with public leaders to ensure peace continued to prevail.