Police told to probe incident: Conrad

SHILLONG, May 25: Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Wednesday said the state government has directed the police to investigate the Malang-Salbari incident although his Assam counterpart, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has assured action.
The latter also said there will not be any repetition of the incident.
“We have asked our police to investigate this issue. Last evening, I had a discussion with the chief minister of Assam and he has assured me such incidents will not happen again,” Sangma said while replying to a question on the assault of the villagers of Malang-Salbari in West Khasi Hills by the Assam police personnel.
Stressing that there is a need to make sure that any incident is handled with care and restraint, he said: “He (Assam CM) was also concerned about the issue and said he will ensure necessary action.”
Sangma said the Assam police will be told to exercise restraint and especially keep in mind that the discussions on the border dispute are still on. “Such acts should be avoided in order not to aggravate the situation and create confusion,” he added.
On the Assam police personnel seen assaulting the villagers, Sangma said he asked Sarma to take necessary action after watching the video on the incident.
Sangma ruled out any review of the memorandum of understanding on six of the 12 disputed sectors on the boundary with Assam. “I have said it again and again that the review is not going to happen after the agreement.”
He said the confusion prevails because 13 villages were either part of Assam or Meghalaya and their names did not appear on the list for discussion as they had no disputes.
“What I am trying to say is that they thought because their name was not in the list, they were sent to Assam but the point is those villages were among 13 that never were part of the disputed areas,” he said.
Sangma also insisted that the NPP has not silenced its coalition partners on the issue. “Whether they have been silenced or they are agreeing to it whole-heartedly depends on the way you look at it,” he said.
“Our coalition partners have always been with us. They have been part of the (border) committees and seen what we have done. They know the circumstances under which we have worked and how facts and figures were checked before we moved ahead. They are quite happy with the results,” he said.