SHILLONG, Aug 16: Buckling under pressure, the state government decided to institute a judicial inquiry under the Commission of Inquiry Act to look into the events that took place in the early hours of August 13 during which former Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council leader Cheristerfield Thangkhiew was killed by the police at his residence.
The decision of the state Cabinet comes a day after the sporadic incidents of stone-pelting and arson in Shillong.
The citizens, who expressed their anger over the manner in which Thangkhiew was killed, wanted the state government to order a judicial inquiry to find out the truth behind the alleged encounter.
Chief Minister, Conrad K Sangma told reporters on Monday that the Cabinet also decided to set up a Peace Committee, which will be headed by Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong. Cabinet Ministers Hamletson Dohling and Renikton Tongkhar Lyngdoh will be its members.
The Committee will co-opt other members from the civil society, including religious organisations and other stakeholders.
Keeping in mind the prevailing situation in Shillong, the government extended the curfew till 5 am of Wednesday. Similarly, the 48-hour ban on mobile internet/data services was extended by another 24 hours.
According to Sangma, the Cabinet also decided to constitute a sub-committee to oversee security and law and order. It will be headed by the CM, the Deputy CM and the Home Minister. The committee will look into the different aspects of law and order.
Sangma spoke to Union Home Minister Amit Shah and apprised the latter of the prevailing situation. The state government sought five additional companies of central forces, including three from CRPF and two from BSF, for deployment in the city. Shah assured the state of full cooperation to contain the situation.
The CM appealed to people to have confidence in the judicial inquiry, assuring that the government will take necessary action based on the outcome of the probe. The government has not yet finalized the names of individuals who will conduct the inquiry.
Commenting on the police operation that led to Thangkhiew’s death, Sangma said these are technically-complex operations and that police operations always do not go according to plan. He reiterated that there was no intention to harm anybody but the operation did not go as planned.
Defending the police, the Chief Minister said issues pertaining to law and order have been there even before the Mawlai incident. He said the police had in the past worked to resolve the issues such as the incident of stabbing in Bara Bazar besides the Ichamati incident.
He said the police department in the past had resolved many complicated issues but the public never give them the credit.
“We had strong intelligence and after the Laitumkhrah blast, there was a lot of anger among the public. Then, the police received intelligence inputs about another blast. If the police had not acted, the public would have said we had not acted,” the CM said.
Sangma condemned the incident of hurling of petrol bombs at his residence and said the government will find out the people involved.
The Chief Minister while admitting that the ban on mobile internet will cause inconvenience to the students, justified the same saying law and order situation was a bigger priority for the government at this juncture.
“They (students) will have some concerns about it but it is really unavoidable at this time. The government will have to keep law and order as priority at this time,” he added.
