Jaintia body urges govt to pardon former militant

SHILLONG: The East Jaintia National Council (EJNC) has urged the state government to pardon the crimes of former HNLC general secretary Chesterfield Thangkhiew as it would pave the way for other militants to come into the mainstream.
In a statement issued here, EJNC president Sambormi Lyngdoh criticised the statement of former Chief Minister Mukul Sangma to not pardon Thangkhiew asserting that the militant’s entry into the mainstream should be welcomed instead. He went on to add that during Mukul’s tenure as CM, there was an absence of peace which was evident in the bloodshed in Garo Hills, stripping of powers of traditional heads and the shooting down of two people in Mookhep among other incidents.