SHILLONG, July 4: The brutal murder of a father of six in East Jaintia Hills has ignited a wave of vigilantism and a defensive standoff over residency. As the Jaintia National Council (JNC) launched an unauthorised “verification drive” against outsiders, a local village authority moved swiftly to disown one of the primary accused.
The victim, 34-year-old tourist taxi driver Kyrshan Lamurong, had been missing since June 15. His body was recovered Friday from an abandoned coal pit at Dongkon village in Rymbai—a site purportedly under National Green Tribunal (NGT) closure guidelines, yet used by the killers to conceal the crime.
Police arrested three men in connection with the abduction and murder: Tensing Dkhar (34), Kumar Barman (44), and Joysharon Barman (38). While the two Barmans hail from Assam’s Kokrajhar and Chirang districts, the arrest of Dkhar has sparked a local dispute.
The Dorbar Shnong of Mulait Bri-Sumer issued a sharp rebuttal on Saturday, denying police links that Dkhar is a resident of their village. Rangbah Shnong Defender Pakem stated that an internal verification found no record of Dkhar, adding that the clarification was necessary to protect the village’s reputation.
East Jaintia Hills Superintendent of Police, Shailendra Bamaniya, said the breakthrough followed intensive technical surveillance and human intelligence. During interrogation, the suspects confessed to killing Lamurong and dumping his body in the pit.The victim’s vehicle, a recently purchased Maruti Suzuki S-Presso, was later recovered near Mawkyrwat in South West Khasi Hills.
The murder has provided a fresh catalyst for the Jaintia National Council (JNC) to escalate its stance on migration. Branding the incident a failure of local monitoring, the JNC has authorised its units across Jaintia Hills to begin “lawful verification operations.”
JNC publicity secretary Mebanteilang Sukhlain stated the drive aims to identify and register non-tribal residents, including their occupation and residency details. While the JNC framed the move as a security necessity, the exercise bypasses the legal authority held exclusively by the State and District Councils to verify identification.
The council has called on village headmen and local institutions to cooperate with their units, warning that they will intensify actions if safety concerns are not addressed.
The investigation remains ongoing as police look into the full motives behind the abduction. Lamurong’s body was handed over to his family following a post-mortem examination at the site.
