SHILLONG, Nov 18: Fear gripped tourists visiting Dawki on Friday when stones were pelted on around eight to ten tourist vehicles causing injury to a tourist. The incident, photos and videos of which have gone viral since, occurred near the Borhill Falls on the Dawki-Riwai road in the afternoon prompting the Assam Tourist Taxi Association to issue a circular asking cabbies to avoid visiting the famed tourist spot.
Police said the stones were pelted by kids aged 12 years or less.
The windshield and windows of several vehicles were damaged in the stone pelting incident.
Ajay Singh, the driver of one of the tourist vehicles, told The Shillong Times that the incident occurred just after they had crossed the Borhill Falls on their way to Shillong.
The passenger he was ferrying — a woman from outside the state — suffered minor injuries on her neck. Singh said they lodged a verbal complaint with Pynursla police station on their way to Shillong.
In a late night development, a senior police officer in Shillong confirmed that some children had pelted stones on the tourist vehicles.
The official said that a police team visited the place to investigate the verbal complaints of the tourist cabbies and during inquiry it was revealed that the children were aged below 12 years. The Rangbah Shnong of Nongtyngur and Mawlynnong gathered at Nongtyngur village but they could not identify the children who had pelted the stones. The Rangbah Shnong of Nongtyngur village informed that a meeting will be convened at the village on Saturday to discuss the incident.
Police also confirmed that no FIR was filed at Pynursla police station.
The stone pelting incident comes at a time when Shillong police have made adequate security arrangements for the main event of the Cherry Blossom Festival to be held between November 24 and 26.
SP (City) Vivek Syiem told The Shillong Times that the security scenario post October 28 violence has been reviewed at many levels and necessary arrangements have been put in place. He assured tight security deployment especially at the venues to prevent any untoward incident during the festival.
“We will make sure that the festival is a success by ensuring effective police deployment to ensure safety for all who come to Shillong for the festival,” Syiem said.
The famed Shillong Autumn Festival, organised on October 29 and 30, recorded a low turnout due to the October 28 incident.
Almost 70 per cent of people who had booked for the festival online failed to turn up, an official associated with the festival said.
“The festival suffered as the attack on bystanders during the rally against unemployment by the Federation of Khasi, Jaintia and Garo People happened the previous day,” he said.
Ex-cop seeks safer Shillong
Former Meghalaya Police cop Mariahom Kharkrang, who took voluntary retirement to jump into politics, asked the police to ensure that the Directorate of Prosecution functions to make Shillong a safe city.
Kharkrang, eyeing a BJP ticket to contest the 2023 Assembly elections from the North Shillong constituency, recalled that the Safe-Secure-Shillong project was started when he was the SP of East Khasi Hills district. A part of the project was the installation of CCTV cameras at important junctions.
“I got to know that these CCTV cameras have malfunctioned and if we don’t have CCTV coverage in a city like Shillong, where do we have it?” Kharkrang said.
Stating that crimes will be committed as Shillong is a growing city, the former police officer asked the police to detect crime, which is the only deterrent against criminals. He said the Directorate of Prosecution has to function as there have to be regular engagements to bridge the gap between the police and the public.
