Rumours lead to chaos at Jhalupara

SHILLONG: Rumour mongering at Jhalupara Cantonment area led to panic on Friday evening after police personnel shut shops in the locality soon after curfew was imposed at 4pm.
East Khasi Hills Deputy Commissioner P.S Dkhar informed that Jhalupara falls under the purview of Lumdiengjri police station and Cantonment Beat House where curfew was promulgated from 4 pm.
However, believing that curfew timings were from 8 pm till 5 am, the local traders kept their shops open even after 4 pm, forcing the police to close the shops.
A shopkeeper informed that police asked them to close their shops by 5:30 pm and all the shops in the locality were shut by 6:30 pm.
It is learnt that the deputy commissioner also called up the officer-in-charge of Jhalupara Beat House and asked him to ensure that the curfew timing was adhered to in the locality.
However, the sudden closure of shops in the area led people to believe that some incident might have occurred in the city, leading to panic reaction from the residents. Some residents also spoke of firing incidents in the city, which, however, turned out to be rumours.
The DC said some magistrates had visited the area a few days back and had asked the shopkeepers to stick to the curfew timing.
The DC further stated that the curfew timing will remain the same on Saturday and if there is any relaxation, the same will be communicated to the people on Saturday afternoon.