SHILLONG: An incident that happened on Thursday morning flared up late in the evening and took a communal turn plunging Motphran and its adjoining areas into complete lawlessness till the wee hours of Friday.
According to reports, the genesis of the incident was teasing of a group of women, who were fetching water from a public tap at Punjabi Lane, by the driver of an SPTS bus.
However, some reports said a bus hit a girl in the locality in the morning that led to an altercation between the residents and the bus operators.
A section of the residents at Punjabi Lane said the conductor, a teenager, used expletives leading to an argument and his assault. The matter was later solved with the help of police.
But the situation turned volatile in the evening when a group of 200-300 men, including hawkers, came to Punjabi Lane in SPTS buses and started pelting stones at the police who were deployed in the area.
Later in the evening, SP (City) S Rynjah said the altercation between the two groups was resolved in the Cantonment Beat House but it was only in the evening that a group of bus drivers raised the issue again.
East Khasi Hills Deputy Commissioner PS Dkhar said if there is a need there will be an inquiry into the situation.
The local police were initially taken aback by the sudden turn of events but as the situation turned worse, more forces were requisitioned.
For most part of the violence, it was the low-rung police personnel who had to bear the brunt of the mob attack and no senior officer could be found at the site for a long time. However, when the situation went out of control, senior officers had to rush to the spot.
Anti-riot vehicles and fire tenders had to be deployed and police had to fire tear gas to disperse the crowd.
As the tempo of the chaos rose, some hooligans were seen throwing stones at 40-50 police personnel stationed at Motphran. Trouble-mongers also burned tyres and other things on the street.
Soon after the incident, police put up a naka check on GS Road and did not allow any vehicle to go towards Motphran.
Meanwhile, some hooligans also came towards a few journalists who were covering the incident and warned them not to record their photos saying, “Don’t show our picture.”
At the time of the incident, one reporter of The Sentinel, Melquire Laitphlang, was also hit by stones and he needed three stitches.
Meanwhile, there were several rumours and fake information on social media which created panic among citizens.
Home Minister James Sangma said the government was assessing the situation whether to impose curfew as there was no let-down in the situation till late at night. “Right now nothing can be said. If need be, will impose curfew.”
Sangma appealed to the public to remain calm.
