SHILLONG, March 30: Home Minister Lahkmen Rymbui on Tuesday defended the inability to arrest anybody in connection with the violent clash at Golf Links here recently which left one person dead.
He said it was not always possible to arrest without credible lead.
Regretting the assault case where three Khasi youths were injured and one of them died, Rymbui said that in any incident there will always be some people with their own agenda trying to spread misinformation but for the state government a criminal has no colour or community and they are dealing with the assault case very seriously.
Stating that it is the duty of the law to bring the perpetrators of the crime to book, the Home Minister said, “It is not easy for police to just arrest anybody as we have to have a clue and some sort of proof before taking any action as it has to be substantiated so that as and when the charge sheet is filed it should stand in the court of the law.”
Asserting that the police are doing their duty, he said that the East Khasi Hills SP has constituted an SIT to investigate into this incident.
“I hope that the culprits will be nabbed as soon as possible and I request anyone who has any clue or knowledge regarding this incident to inform the police so that the necessary action could be taken at the earliest,” Rymbui said.
He also informed that usually a time frame of three months is given to SIT for any investigation.
“I hope with the help of the people around us maybe we could crack the case at the earliest. We set up the SIT is because we are very serious about this case and we do not want such things to happen time and again and we are trying to speed up the investigation to nab the culprit,” he said.
On pressure groups urging the state government to use the same yardstick while dealing with cases of assault on Khasis as is done while dealing with cases of assault on non-Khasis, Rymbui said, “For us everybody is the same; a culprit is culprit and the law is equal. I have issued order for stringent action to be taken immediately in any type of crime in any part of the state.” “For us a criminal is a criminal and has no colour, no community,” he reiterated.
The Home Minister also informed that the state government has taken stock of not just Golf Links but other vulnerable areas where instances like this have occurred in the past.
Compensation demand
A group of residents from South West Khasi Hills on Tuesday met the Home Minister with a request to speed up the investigation in the Golf Links assault case, while demanding compensation for the deceased.
“We have requested him (Rymbui) to take up the matter seriously and demanded compensation for the families of the deceased and the injured,” R. Bahunlang Sanglein said after their meeting with the Home Minister.
On the incident being given a communal colour, Sanglein said, “We cannot say whether non-Khasis attacked them or not. Let police investigate and we will know the truth.”
