SHILLONG, Nov 30: The special court of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in Shillong has summoned four Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council extremists.
Not surprisingly, the HNLC on Wednesday reacted sharply to this “surprise summons” at a time when the tripartite peace process is under way.
The NIA has in a lookout notice published in local newspapers served notices on the HNLC leaders including Bobby Marwein, Marius Rynjah and Sainkupar Nongtraw. They have been summoned before the special judge of the NIA on January 4, 2023.
Nongtraw, the HNLC general secretary cum spokesperson, issued a statement terming the notices as “uncalled for” and “a clear-cut indication” that the authorities concerned have bypassed the entire procedure of the ongoing peace talks.
“Before the initiation of the ongoing tripartite peace talks, we had made it clear that all its cases should be withdrawn so as to ensure a secure environment for pursuing the peace talks,” he said.
According to him, the government had assured that once the process begins, old cases should not in any way hamper the peace talks.
Nongtraw further said Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma and Home Minister Lahkmen Rymbui had asserted that the NIA charge sheet shall not hamper the peace talks.
“The summons is an issue of concern as to when peace talks are ongoing. Then how can new cases be framed against the leaders? It also clearly shows the double standards and attitude of the government, which again creates doubt and mistrust about the entire exercise,” he said.
Nongtraw said the HNLC had abjured violence from the initiation of the peace talks and to date, has not created any kind of atmosphere that can hamper the peace process.
“We have had several rounds of meetings with the officials of the MHA and the state government. So far, we have been assured of total peace, coordination and cooperation by the government but the summons through the local dailies today (November 30) was uncalled for,” he added.
The NIA had filed charge sheets against the four HNLC leaders in connection with a blast that took place behind the staff quarters of Star Cement Factory Colony Lane in Meghalaya’s East Jaintia Hills on December 12, 2020.
The charge sheets were filed in the NIA’s special court in Shillong.
