SHILLONG: The Hynniewtrep Youth Council (HYC) members who staged a hunger strike on Thursday were removed from the site of their hunger strike, at Additional Secretariat parking lot, as they defied the District administration’s order imposing restrictions under Section 144 Cr PC on such protests after 4 P.M.
The HYC members stayed beyond the specified timing late in the evening following which police officers and I Majaw, magistrate rushed to the location to talk to them.
With the HYC members not budging from their stand, the district administration took the members numbering over 30 were in a bus to another location at around 7 pm.
Later, speaking to reporters, SP East Khasi Hills, said, “They have not been arrested but removed from here so that they will not create any problems here. We will take a call later as for further actions to be taken against them.”
Asked whether the HYC has defied any order, the SP replied in the affirmative as they could not be allowed to stage the hunger strike at night.
Asked on the reason why the organisation cannot hold any protest, he said, “We anticipate a lot of law and order problems. If you remember during the last assembly session, they had marched to the Assembly and staged a protest in front of the Assembly. So we cannot allow recurrence of such kinds of behavior on their part .”
It may be mentioned that the Assembly session will start on December 8, 13 and 14. The police official informed that the HYC can hold the hunger strike when there is no Assembly Session and they are prevented from holding the same during the assembly session.
On whether the members will be registered under any cases, the police official said that the matter would be decided later. Marak stated that the permission was given to them for the hunger strike on Thursday (December 7) and the permission was not given for Friday demonstration and not to allow the hunger strike at night.
He added “We cannot allow them to continue till tomorrow (Friday). Secondly, at night it becomes a problem in case anything happens to them and monitoring will also become a problem.”
HYC members take out procession
General secretary of HYC, in a meeting to commemorate the death anniversary of late Khasi Students’ Union leader, Bull N Lyngdoh at Malki said, “Whether the permission is given or not, we will complete the three days hunger-strike and if they want to arrests, the HYC will choose the suffering in jail rather than to see the future generation enslaved in our own land.”
He urged the HYC members to be peaceful and not come into tussle with police department or the district administration. He in turn asked the Police department and the magistrate to coordinate with them to ensure peaceful demonstration.
“We have nothing against the DC who we understand has succumbed to political pressure, or the SP or anybody else but the HYC is against the indifferent attitude of the legislators towards implementing the demands of the organisation,” he said.
After addressing the members at Malki, the HYC took out a procession from Malki to Additional Secretariat parking lot to stage the hunger strike.
Traffic came to halt as the protestors shouted the slogans of the organization and shouted, “Mukul Sangma, down, down,” “Bangladeshis…nepali, bihari.. go back” etc.