From CK Nayak
NEW DELHI, Nov 24: The Central government has agreed to constitute a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into the Mukroh firing incident that killed five civilians from Meghalaya and an Assam forest guard on Tuesday. The order will be issued shortly, officials said.
A cabinet delegation headed by Chief Minister Conrad Sangma on Tuesday called on Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday in New Delhi, requesting for a CBI probe.
In a tweet, the Spokesperson of MHA said, “Meghalaya CM @SangmaConrad met Union Home & Co-op Minister @AmitShah today and requested CBI enquiry into unfortunate incident on Assam- Meghalaya border. Govt of Assam has also requested CBI enquiry into the matter. HM @AmitShah has assured that GOI will conduct a CBI enquiry.”
Addressing a press conference after the meeting, the CM informed that he also demanded justice for lives lost in the firing and sought action against those responsible.
Sangma repeated his stand on the unfortunate incident and said that even if the so-called “timber smuggling” was the root cause of the clashes it cannot, in any way, justify the death of six innocent persons. “There are laws of the land for every offence small or big and it was nothing but excess by the police,” he said.
The CM, however, asserted that the law-and-order situation was under control and there was no major untoward incident in any part of the state.
“We also discussed the safety and security of the people in the border area especially in sensitive and disputed zones and urged the Centre to initiate a process for both states to come together and ensure such incidents do not recur in the future,” he said.
In reply to pointed questions on the future of border talks between Meghalaya and Assam, Sangma said this unfortunate incident has certainly put a question mark on the ongoing settlements. There has to be a lot of confidence building measures, especially by the Assam government, for any mutual talks on border soon, he added.
“We also shared with the Union Home Minister that the root cause of the tension that has been building up in the area and the other areas has to do with the long-pending border issue between Assam and Meghalaya,” he said.
The sooner a solution is found better will for both the states, he added.
The delegation was also apprehensive about the disruption of supply of essential commodities to landlocked Meghalaya and urged the Centre to ensure smooth functioning of the transport system from Assam.
Among other things, discussions were held on matters like the demand for inclusion of Khasi and Garo languages in the Eighth Schedule, implementation of the inner line permit (ILP) and permission to the Meghalaya government to go proceed with the Meghalaya Residents Safety and Security Act (MRSSA), the CM said.
The delegation included Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong and cabinet ministers Lahkmen Rymbui, Renikton Lyngdoh Tongkhar and Hamletson Dohling.