SHILLONG: Laitkyrhong villagers gathered at Pynursla police station on Monday to protest against the arrest of four persons from the village.
Police arrested the accused for chasing two minor girls of the nearby Mawkynring village.
The four persons were arrested under POCSO for eve-teasing.
The Mawkynring villagers accused them of being Menshohnoh (killers for wealth)
The accused have been identified as Shabitstar Kharlongor, Trol Rynjah, Drimroy Rynjah and Kombitshon Nongkynrih. They are in judicial custody.
The Laitkyrhong villagers stormed the police station demanding the release of the four accused after they were assaulted at Mawkynring village.
The angry mob, who gathered at Mawkynring village, wanted to kill the youths after two girls of Mawkynring village had informed the people in the village that the accused, who were drinking liquor, were chasing them.
The assault of the youths has gone viral and the video showed that the four persons were beaten up by some men inside a hall at Mawkynring village.
The assaulters charged them that they were Menshohnoh which prompted the mob to demand that they should be lynched.
The East Khasi Hills SP, Claudia Lyngwa said some residents from Laitkyrhong village went to Pynursla police station to lodge a complaint.
The Secretary of the Dorbar Shnong Laitkyrhong, S. Rynjah said before going to Pynursla police station, a Dorbar was convened on Monday morning to discuss the matter. “The village is worried and concerned since people from Mawkynring and other nearby villages would think that the people of Laitkyrhong are all Menshohnoh. We came to know from the video that the mob has branded all the people of Laitkyrhong as Menshohnoh. This is very serious and the law enforcing people should take it seriously,” Rynjah said.
He said four years ago, a person from Laitkyrhong village was picked up by the mob and beat him at Wahtngai village with an allegation that he was Menshohnoh.
“This man was also punished by the mob and the assault has affected him psychologically and he died after a few years,” Rynjah said.
According to Rynjah, the people Laitkyrhong village do not want the name of the village to be tarnished or its people be branded as Menshohnoh which may lead to loss of precious lives.
Rynjah said the Dorbar Shnong Laitkyrhong has also decided to cancel the annual Shad Suk Myniem this year in view of the arrest of the four persons from the village.
“The Shad Suk Mynsiem was to be held on May 11, but the Dorbar Shnong has cancelled it, because people in the village are sad in view of the arrest of the four persons,” he said.
The Laitkyrhong residents said the four persons had come as cooks in one of the bereaved families in the village on April 16. As it was the funeral day, they left the house at around 10 am to look for liquor outside the village.
They returned with illicit liquor and stopped half way to drink it.
The accused then noticed two girls of Mawkynring village passing through the area and they talked to them.
Police said since the accused chased the girls, they were afraid and the matter was reported to the people at Mawkynring village.
Later, when the accused passed through Mawkynring village to return to Laitkyrhong, they were stopped by the mob who wanted to lynch them.
The police are yet to arrest the people who assaulted the four persons.
