Shillong, Jul 14: The Meghalaya Human Rights Commission (MHRC) is unable to consider the murder case of Trophimos Khongmawloh as the suspects are not public servants.
Khongmawloh was allegedly murdered by members of the Village Defence Party (VDP) of Pynter village in April. He was subjected to a severe beating (a video clip of which was shared on social media) and buried without his relatives being allowed to view the body. After the video emerged, his father filed an FIR and the body was exhumed by police.
Netnobiweit Khongsdoh, the father, placed the case before the MHRC but, in a letter dated July 1 and shared with the press today, stated that as the accused are “private persons” and not public servants, the MHRC cannot get involved.
Under the Human Rights Act 1993, the National Human Rights Commission is mandated to take up cases of human rights violations by public servants. A similar regulation applies to the MHRC under its 2017 rules.
The police investigation, however, continues. According to the most recent update by police, the post-mortem of Khongmawloh found injury marks on his body but that these were not enough to cause death. Forensic findings also revealed the presence of sharp objects in the deceased’s stomach. At the time the authorities were still awaiting final histopathological and toxicological reports to ascertain the exact cause of death.
