Mawlai body urges govt to make probe report public

SHILLONG, July 19: The Seng Samla Mawlai Pyllun (SSMP) on Tuesday impressed upon Home Minister Lahkmen Rymbui to release, at the earliest, the report of the Justice (retd) T Vaiphei headed one-man commission, which probed the killing of HNLC leader Cheristerfield Thangkhiew.
After a delegation of the SSMP met Rymbui, its president Samuel Biam said the minister told them the report was sent to the Personnel department for an examination. “We had insisted that the Home minister should sincerely follow up this matter either with Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma or the state Cabinet and make public the commission’s findings and recommendations,” Biam said.
He said the state government had earlier instituted a judicial probe into the Mookhep firing incident of 2014 and another judicial probe into the Tura and Williamnagar firing incidents during the MBoSE agitation in 2005 in which nine innocent lives were lost.
“But nobody knows what action the government had taken based on the reports of the probes. We would not like this inquiry to meet a similar fate,” Biam said.
According to him, Rymbui assured them that the government will not delay in studying and examining the report by the Cabinet.
Meanwhile, the SSMP president said they had suggested the setting up of a full-fledged Anti Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) team at the Mawlai police station to deal with the problem of drugs in the locality.
“The problem of drugs in the area is a matter of grave concern since many youth have fallen prey to this menace. The Mawlai police station will not be able to prioritise eradicating the problem as they also need to attend to traffic problem and investigate other crimes,” Biam said.
The SSMP said six youth from Mawlai were arrested recently for their alleged involvement in drug peddling.
“Many youth are forced to commit burglary and theft to get money for drugs. The government needs to have a holistic approach to deal with the problem,” Biam insisted.
The SSMP suggested the government to set up a rehabilitation centre to help such youth but the Home minister said it will be difficult. Biam said Rymbui told them the government can go for some kind of a tie-up with privately-owned rehabilitation centres.
The SSMP also suggested that government can provide funds to the private rehabs to admit the youth whose families cannot afford to do so. Biam said such an initiative will greatly help the families.