One-yr-old human rights panel takes up single case

SHILLONG: The Meghalaya State Human Rights Commission (MSHRC) is yet to make its presence felt a year after its formation.
While the delay in providing accommodation to MSHRC is cited as the reason for the Commission to function from Guwahati, the State Government said the panel will be allotted rooms at the old Arunachal Secretariat opposite Anjalee.
On June 7 last year, the Political Department had notified formation of MSHRC with Justice (retired) Aftab H. Saikia as Chairman and former Meghalaya DGP P.J.P Hanaman as member.
In fact, it was on August 13, 2013, that the State Cabinet gave its nod to the formation of the Commission and the following year the Assembly passed the Meghalaya Human Rights Commission (Salaries and Allowances and other Terms and Conditions of Service of the Members) Rules, 2014.
Though there is a provision for the appointment of one more member, the government is yet to fill up the post and currently MSHRC is functioning with the Chairperson and the lone member.
The secretary to MSHRC, Aldous Mawlong, said though the Commission had received five cases, it is dealing with only one.
Of the five complaints, two were regarding deaths of militants due to exchange of fire with police in South Garo Hills, which were already addressed to the National Human Rights Commission.
The third petition was from a person identified as Rajendra Prasad Goyal whose complaint was general in nature and hence it was not taken up.
The fourth compliant was from Meghalaya Citizens’ Forum, which had pointed out the killings of RSS-BJP workers in Kerala.
The Commission felt that it does not have jurisdiction over the matter, Mawlong said.
The fifth case regarding the alleged high-handedness of police during search operations in Mawsynram to trace missing rape accused Konesshon Rodborn, a teacher at Tlong Umiam Secondary School in Sohiong, was taken up by the Commission.
After the DGP was asked to probe the matter, the report was submitted to the Commission.
The Commission had a sitting in Guwahati on May 2 and the order of the Commission was to provide the copies of the report to the affected persons to know whether they are satisfied with the report following which the Commission will give its order.
Besides matters related to accommodation, the illness of the chairperson of MSHRC had also delayed its proper functioning for a short period.
Moreover, the website of the Commission is yet to be ready.
However, Mawlong said the human rights panel had taken several steps to create awareness among the people of the State by holding several programmes.
He said more steps will be taken so that more people can come forward and lodge complaints about human rights violations.
“The Commission wanted to take a suo motu case regarding the North Garo Hills firing incident but since it was handed over to the judicial inquiry commission, MSHRC did not proceed,” Mawlong said.