SHILLONG, July 14: The Meghalaya Human Rights Commission (MHRC) has declined to conduct an inquiry into a complaint filed by the father of deceased Trophimos Khongmawloh, who alleged that his son was beaten to death by members of the Village Defence Party (VDP) and the headman of Pynter village.
The MHRC declined to conduct an inquiry, saying that it lacked jurisdiction because the accused are private individuals and not public servants. In an order issued on June 29, the Commission said the complaint, filed by Netnobiweit Khongsdoh on June 25, alleged that his son was assaulted by the headman of Pynter village and VDP members on April 7, 2026, and succumbed to his injuries the following day.
According to the complaint, the accused persons later brought the body to his residence, claiming that his son had died after consuming pieces of glass while being detained at the village Dorbar Hall.
The complainant further alleged that about a month later, a video surfaced showing the deceased being brutally assaulted by the headman and the VDP members. Following this, the complainant lodged an FIR with the Sadar Police Station on May 5, which was subsequently transferred to the Pynursla Police Station for investigation.
Khongsdoh had urged the Commission to intervene and sought action against nine persons who were allegedly involved in the incident.
However, the MHRC observed that under Section 12(a) of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, and Clause 7(2)(viii) of the Meghalaya Human Rights Commission (Procedures) Regulations, 2017, it can entertain complaints only against public servants.
Since the allegations are against private individuals, the Commission held that it had no jurisdiction to take up the matter. It, however, directed that the complaint be forwarded to the Superintendent of Police, East Khasi Hills, for necessary action in accordance with law and informed the complainant of its decision.
Recently, East Khasi Hills SP Vivek Syiem stated that the police had received the post-mortem report, although some other reports were still awaited.
He said the post-mortem report confirmed the presence of injury marks on the body of the deceased but indicated that the injuries were non-fatal and not sufficient to cause death. Sharp objects were also found in the deceased’s stomach, lending some credence to claims that he had consumed glass pieces.
However, the police are awaiting the histopathological and toxicological examination reports from the Forensic Science Laboratory in Shillong before arriving at a final conclusion.
Syiem had stated that the remaining reports were expected within a week or two.
As part of the ongoing investigation, a spot post-mortem examination was conducted on May 18 after the body was exhumed nearly 40 days after burial in the presence of a magistrate, police officials and medical personnel.
