By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Sep 19: The Opposition parties on Tuesday cornered the MDA 2.0 government over the excessive use of force and brutality by the Meghalaya Police in recent instances of law-and-order situations in the state.
Moving a special motion on the use of excessive force and police brutality during the public hearing of Meghalaya Cements Ltd at Thangskai recently, the VPP’s Mawlai MLA Brightstarwell Marbaniang asked if the people of the state were living under colonial rule.
He said he was ashamed to see the police carrying out atrocities against their own people time and again.
Accusing the government of mistreating people, he said the people who were injured in the incident must be compensated. He pointed out that the police statement cited injuries to only the police personnel, conveniently leaving out the injured people.
Marbaniang said the Thangskai incident was similar to the one in Mawlai on August 13, 2021, which a probe panel said was thoughtless on the part of the police’s Tactical Team-1.
Lamenting that even women protestors were not spared, he said the people had the fundamental right to protest peacefully.
Echoing similar views, VPP’s North Shillong MLA Adelbert Nongrum named the police officers and questioned their actions during the public hearing in East Jaintia Hills. He asked why the police needed to assault adolescent protestors and lathi-charge defenceless women protestors.
Slamming East Jaintia Hills SP Jagpal Singh Dhanoa for using aggressive words such as Maar de, khatam kar de saale ko (kill him, finish him off) Nongrum recalled that the Mawlai incident was executed by Dhanoa.
TMC state president and Nongthymmai MLA, Charles Pyngrope said the government should have assessed the impact of the acquisition on the people and the district administration should have anticipated the outcome of a public hearing.
“The hearing should have been stopped and the planned acquisition should have been discussed further through social impact assessment,” he said.
Nongkrem’s VPP legislator Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit also took note of the incidents and said the Meghalaya police was getting emboldened to use excessive force and brutality. “Meghalaya will become a police state if such a situation continues,” he said.
He also asked if the police were bribed by the cement company to quell protests against its expansion plans.
Engaging in the discussion, TMC MLA and former chief minister Mukul Sangma strongly condemned the deployment of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act against those allegedly involved in the unrest in Tura on July 24.
Sangma accused the government of misusing the police force for its own benefit. “Never in the history of Meghalaya have we witnessed such heavy-handedness by the police. What message are we sending to the people of the state, that police can act with impunity?” he asked.
He said the people simply wanted their grievances to be heard by the government. Instead, they found themselves charged under draconian laws like the UAPA, typically reserved for dealing with terrorists.
Sangma also pointed out that some of the arrested youth were at the peak of their academic careers and their parents lamented the injustice to them.
He asked whether due process had been followed when the CM met with the protesters, emphasising that if they were indeed terrorists or members of banned outfits, it would not have been advisable for the CM to engage with them directly.
“There are relevant laws that could have been applied for the crimes they were charged with, but the UAPA of 1967 is intended for terrorists,” Sangma said, alleging that the district police might have resorted to excessive use of force to mask their inefficiencies or to appease their political superiors.
In his reply, Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong said 78 police personnel were briefed about maintaining law and order during the programme at Topcem Cement before their deployment to the site.
He said that a group of 30 people from Thangskai village, including women and children, sat at the main entrance of the cement plant, effectively blocking the entry of vehicles and individuals into the plant.
Despite a request from the East Jaintia Hills police to send only a few members from the group for the public hearing to register their protest formally, the crowd swelled to about 150 with people from Chiehruphi, Wahiajer and adjoining villages under Narpuh Elaka gathering at the spot.
“Unfortunately, despite the best efforts from the police, the blockade persisted, impeding the flow of traffic,” he said, adding that the public hearing commenced peacefully at 10:55 am.
However, the crowd, incited by a few individuals, forced their way in through the Topcem plant gate. The police immediately intervened, attempting to prevent the situation from escalating.
“Regrettably, the mob used women and children as shields to make the use of reasonable force exceedingly difficult. This tactic prevented the police from taking decisive action to contain the crowd,” Tynsong said.
“The situation further deteriorated as the mob tried to gain access to the hearing venue, including scaling the boundary walls of the facility,” he said.
The police made repeated efforts to pacify the crowd and convince them to refrain from taking the law into their own hands. However, the attempts to de-escalate the situation met with limited success.
“At around 1:30 pm, despite multiple attempts to maintain order, the situation took a violent turn and the mob began to exhibit aggressive behaviour, attacking the police personnel with bamboo sticks, rods, and stones. The police continued to issue warnings, urging the crowd in vain to disperse peacefully,” Tynsong said.
“Given the gravity of the situation and the risk it posed to public safety, the police had no option but to use reasonable force to contain the violent mob. During this process, 11 police personnel sustained injuries but the force was successful in dispersing the violent mob by 3:15 pm,” he added.
Tynsong claimed the MDA 2.0 was the most accommodative government and their doors for discussions are always open.