TURA, Jan 24: TMC MLA from Rajabala, Dr Mizanur Rehman Kazi, has come down heavily on what he described as an overreach by an Assam police team that entered Meghalaya without informing local authorities before detaining two businessmen over Google Pay transactions made by customers.
According to sources, the incident occurred on Wednesday when a team from South Salmara district police arrived in Rajabala following reports of stolen mobile phones being used for online payments. One transaction amounted to Rs 2,000, another to Rs 1,700, and a third payment of Rs 7,000 was made in Phulbari by a local trader.
“The police came to my shop over a purchase of Rs 7000 made by a customer. The customer had purchased six bags of rice from the shop and paid online through a scanner that we have at the shop. As a businessman, there was nothing alarming as he had the PIN for the phone that he paid through. However, Assam police personnel came to my shop as if to point to the fact that I had helped with fraud. It was legal transaction and even if he stole the phone, how are we to know,” stated the trader when contacted.
He also stated that he saw two other traders detained in the police vehicle for similar reasons. Concerned residents of Rajabala alerted MLA Dr Kazi, who then contacted both the Meghalaya and Assam police administrations for clarification.
“They did not inform the local police authorities of their entry and also did not notify on the fact that they have detained two persons in such a case. This is a clear case of police overreach by Assam and does not augur well for the future. Those responsible for this mess need to answer,” said the MLA.
He further questioned the logic behind detaining traders over online payments made via scanners.
“Online payments are a norm now rather than an exception. How would a trader verify if the funds belong to the person purchasing it or not? There was nothing suspicious as the y were able to verify their identity through PINs so where is the illegality in the process? Some common sense should have been used,” felt the Rajabala MLA.
The two traders were later released towards the evening of the same day but not before suffering a harrowing experience for something they had no fault of.
“Proper procedures should have been followed instead of Assam police barging in this way. There is a need for cooperation by both states but overreach is a real buzzkill for both states,” said Dr Kazi.
