SHILLONG: Congress MLA Kimfa Marbaniang said the five people who were arrested from his constituency by Assam Police were languishing in Boko Police Station for almost three weeks.
Speaking during Zero Hour in the Assembly on Thursday, he urged the state government to take necessary steps and ensure that the five arrested people- which include 2 women and one 18-year-old disabled girl, be released forthwith from the custody of Assam Police and to ensure that Assam Police stop harassing the people from the state.
He drew attention to the incident that took place in his constituency on September 8, 2018 when the Home Minister James Sangma inaugurated the multi utility center at Malongkona which is in his constituency.
He said after Sangma had left the place, the officials of Assam government had come to the area and took measurements of the road which leads to Chonggadare Waterfall but the villagers from Huhuapara prevented the officials of the Assam government to carry out the work as the villagers had already constructed a road under MNREGS, Meghalaya and not PMGSY since the area falls under Nonglang Sirdarship, Meghalaya. In the process, the five people were arrested.
On visiting the area on September 16, he was informed by the people that when they prevented the Assam officials to stop the destruction of the road already constructed under MNREGS, a team of Assam police arrived in the village and beat up several residents and also arrested the people.
“The people also informed that the matter did not end there as Assam Police continued to hunt down the villagers in the area forcing them to flee to the nearby jungle,” Marbaniang said.
He added, “The consequence to such an action by Assam Police compelled 575 people, and not 600, from 77 families of Huhuapara village out of which 125 took shelter in a school building of the Old Christ King School in Malang Sildubi since September 8 and the rest took shelter in and around Sildubi and nearby villages due to fear of arrest and have not been able to return to their home.”
He asserted that the people of his constituency were facing a lot of hardship as they were living in a make-shift home in a school building in a crammed condition and without proper sanitation.
He recalled that the Chief Ministers of Assam and Meghalaya had border talks on July 5, 2010 in Dispur where it was decided that there should be not be any attempts on the part of the two governments to encroach into each other’s territory.
Marbaniang said, “It is unfortunate that the government of Assam has not honoured this decision but continues to encroach into the territory of Meghalaya while the state government of Meghalaya has turned a nelson’s eye to the plight of its own people.”