After a storm of protest, the state government has decided to withdraw the police personnel who were deployed on the North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU) campus.
This was informed by Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong, who also holds the Home portfolio, today.
Well over 100 police were deployed to the university’s Shillong campus yesterday, the same day that the NEHU Students’ Union president was arrested on suspicion of involvement in the alleged assault of an assistant professor in the Hindi Department last week.
“After taking stock of the situation and having discussed with [Vice-Chancellor] in-charge of NEHU, ultimately we decided to withdraw the police force there,” Tynsong said.
Many students and staff deplored the stationing of police on the university grounds when they had not been sent for by the Acting VC or other responsible official. However, Tynsong made it clear today that no such permission is required when there is an urgent need to handle a developing situation. “I don’t see that any permission is needed by the concerned authority and the government is very concerned about the security and safety of students and faculty,” he stated. “I won’t say that we need permission to enter anywhere. It all depends on the situation.”
Asked if the authorities expect that the situation will escalate now that NEHUSU president Sandy Sohtun has been arrested, the Deputy CM urged students to bear with the government while the investigation is being undertaken.
“The police picked up the [NEHUSU] president on the basis of the FIR filed [by the alleged victim], so allow the investigation to be completed and once that’s done ultimately we are free to go to the court,” Tynsong said. “The court will decide whether to grant bail or not. I would urge students to allow the investigation to be completed. Also, we can’t allow anybody to take the law into their own hands. If it’s true, as per the FIR, that the professor was assaulted, I feel we have to ensure that everybody who is residing or visiting Meghalaya should feel safe.”
