A dispute between friends was blown out of proportion by Laban police, who arrested two Khasi boys without any justification, the Khasi Students Union (KSU) has alleged.
In a letter to Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong, who also holds the Home Department portfolio, the KSU’s Laban unit claimed abuse of power and arbitrary arrest on the part of police.
It was on the afternoon of April 12 that a dispute between two groups of boys, ranging in age from 16 to 20, from Khasi and non-tribal communities took place in the mixed neighbourhood of Laban.
A small scuffle broke out over the dispute, which was about money, but the matter was settled amicably as they youths were known to each other, the KSU told Tynsong.
However, later, police went to the residence of one of the non-tribal boys, took him to the local police station and “forced him to lodge an FIR against the other Khasi group.”
The boy initially resisted but eventually acquiesced due to the insistence of the police, the pressure group said.
Based on this FIR, the police summoned the Khasi boys to the police station where they were arrested.
In the meantime, fake news was being spread on social media, elevating the minor afternoon dispute into a supposed stabbing.
According to the KSU, the police charged the two Khasi boys with attempted murder, kidnapping or abducting to murder, voluntarily causing grievous hurt and other sections of the Indian Penal Code.
However, the boys were released the following day by the court “as the allegations made are baseless.”
The KSU accused police of trying to stir other communities against the Khasis, of harassing Khasis, of repeatedly making false arrests, etc.
Tynsong was told that the police have a specific grudge against or “bloodlust” for the KSU, oftentime drafting FIRs for “victims” to sign and subjecting every Khasi youth they arrest to the question of whether they are a member of the pressure group.
The letter also claimed that the police did not act with any haste when a few Khasi youths were assaulted by members of another community in Laban on April 6 despite the names of the perpetrators being known.
