Tura: Two civilians were killed by the army in Meghalaya’s North Garo Hills district last night while two abductors were lynched in West Garo Hills today.
In a release issued today, the army said based on specific information that two Garo National Liberation Army militants were travelling on the Kharkutta-Khilor route on a motorcycle, they set up a mobile checkpost at Konchikol near Kharkutta, about 42km from the district headquarters of Resubelpara.
Around 8.40pm, the army personnel who were checking vehicles signalled a biker and his pillion rider to stop but they accelerated abnormally, leading to a huge back flash from the silencer, giving an impression in the pitch darkness that the motorcyclists had opened fired, defence public relations officer Lt Col Suneet Newton said in the release.
“The troops retaliated in self-defence. The motorcyclists were hit and died on the spot,” he said, adding that a detailed investigation was on.
The deceased have been identified as Sweetbirth D. Marak, 30, and Alphius Momin, 35, of Rajasimla village in North Garo Hills. Momin was a teacher in a local school, reported Telegraph.
The army also said the incident primarily occurred because of non-adherence to security instructions by the motorcycle-borne persons.
North Garo Hills superintendent of police Ramesh Singh said the site was near a police outpost and when the police team heard the gunshots, it rushed to the spot and brought the riders to the hospital.
“We registered a case against unknown persons for the killings last night. The army informed us about the firing today,” he added.
Police sources said the incident was a violation of operative procedure as the army neither informed the North Garo Hills superintendent of police nor the officer-in-charge of the nearby police station before it started checking vehicles.
Meghalaya police are likely to take up the matter with army authorities.
Local residents surrounded the Kharkutta police outpost today, seeking justice. They sought a probe into the incident.
The families of the victims have filed an FIR against the army.
Kharkutta MLA Cherak W. Momin rushed to the spot from Shillong this morning. Condemning the incident, he said the matter needs to be probed immediately and the guilty punished.
The Garo Students’ Union also sought a judicial probe. Civil bodies sought ex gratia for the next of kin of the victims.
North Garo Hills deputy commissioner S.C. Sadhu said, “We are yet to get details of the case from the police. We should receive it by today or early tomorrow. We will sit with the magistrates and constitute an inquiry.”
In West Garo Hills, villagers of Kalchengpara, located 50km from the district headquarters of Tura, said they spotted six persons with a non-tribal person in the village last night and decided to launch an attack.
Seeing the angry mob, the abductors scattered and fled into the adjacent forest, leaving their victim behind. The villagers, however, chased the abductors and managed to nab three of them from different spots at different times at night.
Two of the nabbed persons, identified as Sanjay R. Marak and Akil Ch. Sangma, were lynched. The third, identified as Champingstone R. Sangma, was critically injured and is undergoing treatment at Tura civil hospital. He identified two of the three abductors still at large as Frithing A. Sangma and Nobin B. Marak and said he did not know the third person.
Police have registered a case and launched an operation in the area to nab them.
“These people are the root of all problems in Garo hills. Because of them, AFSPA will be imposed,” one of the villagers said. The police said the hostage, a daily wage labour from Chibinang in the district, was picked up from Rome village near Dadenggre and brought on foot through the jungles to the village.