JOWAI: A students’ body in West Jaintia Hills has demanded that construction of the battalion outpost of Assam police in a border village in the district be stopped.
A delegation of the Jaintia Students’ Movement members, led by its president Leningstar Rymbai, met Deputy Commissioner LSN Dykes Garod on Monday and submitted a petition that said the Assam government “always intrudes into the territory of Meghalaya at a time when the government in Meghalaya is occupied with the conduct of elections”.
Rymbai said the Assam government is constructing the outpost at Pom Dkhar, Rtiang Sanphaw near Saitsama under the jurisdiction of West Jaintia Hills district and “it is disturbing for us and the people of the said villages and adjacent areas”.
“The setting up of the battalion outpost on our land is the marking of territory by the Government of Assam to fortify its claims in an attempt to intrude into our lands,” he added.
The petition also alerted about further intrusion.
Rymbai expressed concern over the fact that the outpost is hardly 20 km away from the Saitsama outpost “but they (the police) are not aware of what is happening in their jurisdiction”.
“If the battalion outpost at Saitsama area is not stopped then we are sure that we will have a Langpih-like situation in the future and the Government of Meghalaya will have to take the responsibility,” said the student leader and added that the DC would discuss the matter with the SP.
