Miscreants lobbed a petrol bomb at State chief minister Conrad Sangma's personal residence, he was safe as Sangma and his family now live at the government residence in Shillong.
Guwahati: As the north-eastern region of Bharat peacefully celebrated India’s 75th Independence Day, disturbing news broke from the Meghalaya capital city of Shillong, where the authority has to impose curfew in the Scotland of East and restrict mobile internet services from 6 pm for two days in the districts of East Khasi Hills, West Khasi Hills, South West Khasi Hills, and Ri-Bhoi.
Miscreants lobbed a petrol bomb at State chief minister Conrad Sangma's personal residence, he was safe as Sangma and his family now live at the government residence in Shillong. With more to it, the State home minister Lahkmen Rymbui resigned, citing the former rebel leader Cherishterfield Thangkhiew's encounter by the police.
The situation turned violent as hundreds of people carrying back flags had joined in a funeral procession of Thangkhiew, the former secretary of armed separatist militant outfit Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC), which pledges to make Meghalaya a sovereign nation out of India. By Sunday afternoon hours, many Shillong roads witnessed stone pelting, vandalism on police vehicles, etc.
It may be mentioned that the surrendered HNLC leader was killed during a police encounter on Friday morning in Shillong. The police informed that his house at Mawlai-Kynton Massar area was raided at around 3 am in connection with some recent blasts. Thangkhiew (56) was reportedly killed in the retaliatory actions of the police personnel on duty as he first ‘attacked the team with a knife’.
One of the founding members of HNLC, the first militant outfit of Meghalaya floated in 1997. Thangkhiew was instrumental in opening at least six training camps in Sylhet and Maulabibazar locality of Bangladesh. He was hiding there till he came back to surrender in October 2018. The police claim to have evidence about his involvement with a recent blast at the Laitumkhrah area of Shillong.
Not to speak of others, the Meghalaya unit of Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP, which is an ally to Sangma led National People’s Party (NPP) government in Shillong also condoled the death of Thangkhiew. In a media statement, the saffron party leaders termed his death an irreparable loss to the family, and they prayed for eternal peace of
the soul.
As the law & order situation deteriorated in the neighbouring State, Assam police asked the people ‘not to travel to Shillong till curfew continues’. The situation seems to remain tense for some days, as facing the public outrages the home minister who resigned and admitted that Thangkhiew was killed by the police ‘exceeding the lawful tenets of the law’. He even proposed for a judicial probe into the incident of Thangkhiew’s death.
Speaking to this correspondent, a Shillong resident who wanted anonymity opined that the incident has a serious political implication. HNLC claims to represent the Khasi and Jaintia tribal people of Meghalaya but avoids talking about Garo's third major matrilineal community. CM Sangma, the son of former Lok Sabha speaker PA Sangma, is a Garo politician and the last attack on his private residence by unruly agitators describes a lot, he asserted.
