Shillong: Meghalaya chief minister Conrad K Sangma on Friday said that no major untoward incident was reported in the capital city during the past 24 hours and curfew was relaxed for 13 hours during the day.
Curfew was imposed in Shillong on August 15 following the violence that erupted in parts of the city during the funeral of former militant leader Cherishterfield Thangkhiew, who was shot dead by the police in an encounter two days earlier.
“We have not had any major incidents during the last 24 hours. There has been calmness in most areas of the city and discussions have been held with different stakeholders to ensure that there’s peace in the state,” Sangma said at a press conference in Shillong on Friday.
Asked if any further talks are bein held with stakeholders to restore normalcy, Sangma said that it is a continuous communication. Even on Friday, there was another round of meeting with some of them, he added.
“Apart from that there is a continuous engagement in terms of issues which needs to be worked on so all aspects are looked into. This process requires a lot of discussion and confidence building and lot of talk has to be done,” said Sangma.
Thangkhiew, the former self-styled general secretary of the outlawed Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC), was killed when the police raided his home in Shillong’s Mawlai area in connection with the recent IED blasts across the state.
Some of the local organisations had asked the government not to deploy any central forces or Meghalaya police personnel in certain areas like Mawlai, since the residents were angry after the killing of the former HNLC leader.
“We have deployed police personnel and there is sufficient manpower. Concerning organisations not wanting forces, I would differ. There have been many organisations and individuals who have told us that there should be security personnel in some locations. A majority of the people has asked that security forces should be there,” added Sangma.
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Meanwhile, the Meghalaya government has instituted a judicial inquiry to be conducted by Justice (retd) T Vaiphei, the chairperson of the Meghalaya Human Rights Commission, into the incident. He has been asked to submit his report in three months.
Curfew was further relaxed from 5 am till 6 pm on Friday as there were no fresh reports of violence, East Khasi Hills district Deputy Commissioner I Laloo said.
On Thursday, the curfew was lifted for 12 hours from 5 am. Night curfew will, however, remain in place from 6 pm onwards till further orders, she said.
