SHILLONG, March 12: The Justice T. Vaiphei commission of inquiry probing the killing of former HNLC leader Cheristerfield Thangkhiew examined five witnesses from his family in its recent two-day sitting.
Justice Vaiphei said the commission had examined two members of the slain Thangkhiew on Friday and three more on Saturday.
“One or two more witnesses are likely to be examined,” he said, adding that the next hearing will be conducted on April 1 and 2 as the commission would have to accommodate the state’s legal counsel who would be unable to attend the hearing next two weeks due to a festival and personal reasons.
“After the witnesses, we will examine the papers and cross the bridge when we come to it,” he said, asserting the commission’s determination to complete the inquiry within the extended time.
The commission has so far examined five government witnesses including the East Jaintia Hills SP, Jagpal Singh Dhanoa who led the August 13 operation in Shillong’s Kynton Massar locality.
The state government had on February 20 given an extension of three months to the commission for completing the inquiry.
The probe was ordered on August 16 last year after a public outcry over the death of Thangkhiew, who was shot by the police in an early morning raid.
