TURA, Sep 30: The nine people from Garo Hills who lost their lives in a police firing while protesting against the alleged bifurcation of the Meghalaya Board of School Education (MBoSE) in 2005 were on Friday remembered during a prayer service organised at the District Auditorium in Tura.
The incident, which took place on September 30, 2005, had shocked the entire region of Garo Hills as well as the state after police resorted to gunfire on the protesters in Tura and Williamnagar.
While four of them fell to police bullets at Chandmary Playground in Tura, five others were killed at Rongrenggre Playground in Williamnagar.
Since the tragedy, the 30th September Victims’ Solidarity Forum has been organising a prayer service every year in their memory.
Friday’s memorial service in Tura was, however, organised by the central executive committee of Garo Students’ Union, along with other organisations such as the Post Graduate Students’ Union (PGSU), A’chik Holistic Awakening Movement (AHAM) and the Tura Government College Students’ Union (TGCSU).
The memorial service was attended by various church leaders, senior citizens besides social organisations and student organisations, including the North East Students Organisation (NESO).
During the prayer service, leaders of civil societies as well as senior citizens felicitated the families of the victims.
The gathering also marched to the venue of the tragic incident and offered a short prayer and lit candles at the cenotaph erected in memory of the victims.
A similar memorial service was also organised by the East Zone of GSU at Rongrenggre Playground in Williamnagar.
