The Rangbah Shnong of Mawlynnong, Thomlin Khongthohrem, expects a swift result and action against Akash Sagar, who is accused of offending the religious sentiments of the Christian community by shouting Hindu slogans from the pulpit of a church in Mawlynnong recently.
Speaking to Highland Post today, Khongthohrem said that the village expects to see results against the offender as per the law that will also serve as an example for others not to resort to such activities.
The village headman said that residents of Mawlynnong and the church were told by police that an FIR had already been lodged against Sagar and, as a result, the Dorbar Shnong did not lodge a separate FIR.
The village and church authorities had been unaware of Sagar’s dubious activities until they saw the viral video for themselves in the media and the news that an FIR had been registered against the Instagrammer.
“This person came as a tourist and we guess that this happened on Sunday after the first church service when the church remains open for another (later) service. It seems that this tourist entered the church during this time when there was no one in the church or the campus,” Khongthohrem said.
Meanwhile, the Rangbah Shnong said the villagers have decided to install CCTV cameras in the main tourist spots at Mawlynnong (known as the ‘Cleanest village in Asia’) to prevent such untoward incidents in the future.
Sagar’s antics, where he chants “Jai Shree Ram” inside the Epiphany Church in Mawlynnong, has drawn fury in Meghalaya. Social activist Angela Rangad is believed to have registered the first formal FIR against him but his actions have been widely condemned by Christians and Hindus alike in the state.
