At least three persons were injured along the Assam-Meghalaya border at Jatalong village in the disputed Block II area last night.
The incident sparked tension in the area as police personnel from both Meghalaya and Assam reached Jatalong to disperse the crowd.
Jatalong is one of the disputed areas between Assam and Meghalaya, which will be taken up in second phase to resolve the areas of difference between the two states.
Ri Bhoi Additional Deputy Commissioner, MB Tongper and BJ Kharshandi visited the village today to monitor the situation.
Speaking to reporters, Tongper said the incident was not communal but due to a misunderstanding between two groups during the purchase of liquor. However, he said security arrangements have been made to ensure peace prevails along the interstate border.
“Things are under control at the moment. The DC and Magistrate have been here since yesterday. There will be a 24 hour check and we are not allowing anyone to cross areas to avoid any untoward incident,” a police official said.
The injured persons are indentified as Barnabas Lyngdoh, Sildron Mukhim and Flaming Sten of Khyndewso village.
According to Mukhim, Barnabas was assaulted first when he was standing outside a shop. He said he was also attacked when he tried to intervene.
Following the attack several others from Khyndewso, Mawlasnai, Tyrso, Umlaper villages came out in large numbers which led to a huge altercation in the area between the locals and the Nepali community there.
Mukhim said that the police arrived at around 8pm and tried to control the situation. Once the police arrived, the situation was brought under control.
Meanwhile, a resident of Nongkrem, Joannes J T L Lamare has petitioned the Meghalaya Human Rights Commission (MHRC) to intervene and address the plight of the three injured persons.
Lamare said that attack is clear violation and suppression of human rights and may have led to loss of precious lives, had the victims not fled the place of incident. He said compensation for the three persons may also be considered.
“This act of violence may also lead to the destruction of communal harmony and thus encourage the escalation of tension between communities residing in the adjoining areas because the areas are being inhabited two or more communities. If there is communal unrest community developmental programmes and progress cannot be carried out which is again a way that will lead to deprivation of civic amenities,” he added.
