The youth wing of the Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement (KHNAM) has demanded that the state government take stringent action against anyone who participated in the alleged fake negative Covid-19 test racket at the Umling entry point.
Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong had recently told a section of the media that the state government was aware that fake negative test results were being sold to entrants into Meghalaya by unscrupulous individuals at the checkpoint. However, the Ri-Bhoi Deputy Commissioner later contradicted Tynsong, by describing the accusation as fake news.
If the fake results scam is true, it could have played a part in the surge of Covid-19 cases in the state since the start of April.
“Such a crime would have jeopardised the lives of the people of the state and we have not seen a proper investigation followed by a due course of law,” KHNAM youth wing president Thomas Passah said. “Who are those elements that have committed such heinous crimes? Have they been identified? Have they been booked as per the law?”
Whereas those who do not wear a mask or who violate curfew orders are punished, Passah questioned why no one has been prosecuted for the fake results. He also claimed that a company with the “blessings of high-profile individuals”, which he did not name, was outsourced work at the Umling centre and that could be the reason for the lack of police action.
KHNAM also alleged that, for a fee, people were jumping ahead in the queue to be processed in Umling. Entrants would, at times, have to wait for hours to be processed.
With the state “burning” and lives being lost daily, Passah demanded that the government should prosecute the guilty to set a strong precedent so that “no one can jeopardise the lives of the people for money in such a time of emergency”.
