On the Mukroh firing incident, former Chief Minister and leader of the opposition, Dr Mukul Sangma, today said that Meghalaya government should demand that its Assam counterpart hand over all the accused for trial.
“The case is very clear, the law of the land is there. Let them follow the relevant section of the CrPC, IPC and arrest the people who are involved in this brutality. They must demand Assam to hand over all of those who are involved in this whole homicide and brutal killing,” Dr Sangma told reporters at a press conference.
He questioned the need to talk to the central government first before moving on the case and said that the laws required to prosecute the perpetrators are already in place. “Why the delay? They must proceed and issue arrest warrants and ask the Assam government to ensure that the people who are accused in the case are handed over and the law of the land will take its own course,” he maintained.
Dr Sangma, who visited the scene of the firing yesterday, said that he met the villagers and heard their stories, including the kind of suppression and atrocities that they were subjected to by the authorities of Assam.
The villagers have been subjected to constant harassment and atrocities and were living in fear but their attempts to draw the attention of the authorities from Meghalaya fell on deaf ears, he said.
“They are scared of the government authorities. What can be more disturbing and painful than this kind of information to us? Therefore, there is a need for both the governments to come clean on this,” Dr Sangma stated. “The Assam and Meghalaya governments should talk to each other and ensure that there are no chances of breakdown of law and order. This is not the way to deal with this situation because there is a misinformation campaign going on as though this whole incident has taken place because of the hatred between different communities, which is not correct.”
Dr Sangma also took a dig at the state government for shutting down mobile internet services, calling it a knee-jerk reaction that punishes troublemakers and the innocent whenever there is a hint of trouble in the state.
Meanwhile, the state Trinamool Congress (TMC) today announced that the party will also extend an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh to the families affected by the Assam police brutality and also support to those injured in the firing incident.
