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Tag: Cheristerfield Thangkhiew death

  • Meghalaya announces judicial probe into encounter death of ex-militant leader

    By PTI

    SHILLONG: Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Monday announced a judicial investigation into the recent encounter killing of a former militant leader whose supporters committed vandalism and arson on Independence Day, forcing the administration to clamp curfew in state capital Shillong.

    The government will set up a peace committee headed by Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong comprising representatives of civil society organisations and others as members, Sangma said after an emergent cabinet meeting.

    The government also decided to extend curfew in Shillong by another 24 hours till 5 am of August 18.

    Mobile internet services will also remain withdrawn for the next 24 hours, he said.

    “Based on the suggestion of the members, the cabinet has decided to institute a judicial inquiry under the Commission of Inquiry Act to look into the events that took place on August 13,” Sangma said.

    The chief minister, however, did not name the judge who will probe the August 13 encounter death.

    ALSO READ: CRPF vehicle attacked in Meghalaya capital amid curfew

    The deputy CM headed peace committee will also have cabinet ministers H Dohling and R Tongkhar.

    “The Committee will co-opt members from civil societies, religious organisations, community heads, etc,” Sangma said. “There will also be a Sub-Committee for Security & Law & Order headed by the Chief Minister, Sh. @SangmaConrad with Deputy CM & Home Minister as members to look into aspects of law & order, possible future threats & overall functioning of @MeghalayaPolice,” he tweeted.

    Although Home Minister Lahkmen Rymbui has put down his papers on Sunday amid violence in Shillong, the chief minister is learnt to have not accepted his resignation.

    The Union Home Ministry has sanctioned five additional companies of central armed paramilitary forces to assist the state government in containing the law and order situation, Sangma said.

    Following the death of Cheristerfield Thangkhiew, the former self-styled general secretary of the outlawed Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC), in an encounter when the police raided his home in the wee hours on Friday, violence erupted in Mawlai and Jaiaw areas of the state capital.

    Thangkhiew, who had surrendered before the police in 2018, was allegedly involved in the recent IED blasts of which the latest took place on August 10 injuring two persons including a woman.

    Arson and vandalism were reported from the affected areas on Independence Day.

    Unidentified miscreants hurled petrol bombs at the private residence of the chief minister on Sunday night but no one was injured.

    He was at his official Polo Hills residence at that time.

    A few hours later, a CRPF vehicle proceeding to control the situation came under attack by a mob.

    Two police vehicles were also torched at Jaiaw and Mawalai areas.

  • CRPF vehicle attacked in Meghalaya capital amid curfew

    By PTI

    SHILLONG: A vehicle carrying CRPF personnel was attacked by protesters in Mawlai area here during curfew hours, prompting security forces to resort to “mild force” for dispersing the crowd, police said on Monday.

    The state government has imposed a curfew in Shillong and banned mobile internet services in at least four districts, as vandalism and arson rocked the state capital and nearby areas on Independence Day during the funeral procession of a former militant.

    The attack on the CRPF vehicle took place hours after unidentified miscreants hurled petrol bombs at the residence of Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma late on Sunday, they said.

    “Acting on reports of a large number of youths burning tyres in the middle of the road in Mawlai area, CRPF personnel rushed to the area.

    “The agitators pelted stones at their vehicle, prompting the personnel to use mild force to disperse the crowd,” a senior district police officer told PTI.

    He said a vehicle belonging to a vernacular media house was damaged and its driver suffered injuries during lathicharge by CRPF jawans.

    Meghalaya Home Minister Lahkmen Rymbui had resigned on Sunday amid violence in Shillong over the police shooting of the former militant.

    Rymbui also urged the CM to institute a judicial inquiry into the shooting of Cheristerfield Thangkhiew, the self-styled general secretary of the banned Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council.

    Thangkhiew, who had surrendered in 2018, was shot dead on August 13 when he allegedly tried to attack a police team with a knife during a raid at his house in connection with a series of IED blasts in the state.