IT was a bloody Friday. Shattering the clam of Garo Hills, police and CRPF personnel opened fire on people protesting against SLC report on MBOSE leaving nine dead and injuring several others.

As usual the police claimed that it was forced top open fire after crowd became unruly, started pelting stones and burning government vehicles. “It was a coordinated attack by the crowd on district administration officials and police both in Tura and Williamnagar and that is why the police were compelled to react,” said Meghalaya Deputy Chief Minister Dr Mukul Sangma. However, no one in Garo Hills is ready to buy this argument. They alleged that CRPF personnel opened indiscriminate fire.

Amidst allegations and counter allegations, it is still not clear who ordered the police to open fire. There are conflicting reports on the order to open fire. District administration officials deny having passed any order. Magistrates at the site deny issuing any order.

“Under no circumstances was the order to open fire on civilians given to the CRPF,” claimed a senior magistrate. Some are now putting entire blame on CRPF personnel. It was a hasty decision on the part of the CRPF personnel who overreacted, they say. The State Government has ordered a judicial enquiry and one hopes that truth will come out once the enquiry commission submits its report. 

No one ever imagined that agitation against MBOSE revamping would take such a tragic turn. In Tura, the situation took a serious turn when police personnel tried to arrest Federation for A’chik Freedom (FAF) General Secretary Sengrak Marak. It resulted in a clash between police personnel and a group of students. The students started stone pelting and in the process damaged several police vehicles.

The CRPF personnel in retaliation first fired tear gas shells onto the crowd. The police also resorted to lathi charge. Then began the firing and it lasted for nearly 15 minutes. When the firing stopped, several students and elderly persons were seen lying on the ground with bullet injuries. While three persons, including a sixteen-year-old school student, died on the spot, another person died on way to the hospital.

At Williamnagar, the trouble started when protestors and police clashed over the denial to start a procession from Rongrenggiri School Playground. As clashes began between the public and the police, CRPF personnel opened fire killing three students on the spot. Two other students died in hospital. Several students received bullet injuries and out of them four were critically injured.

As usual the blame game started soon after the firing took place. Veteran Garo leader and former Lok Sabha speaker Purno Sangma demanded that President’s Rule should be imposed in the State. As a mark of protest against the firings he has also announced that he would resign from Lok Sabha.

Mr. Sangma who was camping in Garo Hills of the fateful day spoke thrice to Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil demanding Central intervention. Terming the incident as ‘barbaric’, Mr. Sangma alleged that “this was a pre- planned attack on innocent Garo people.

The former Lok Sabha speaker claimed that the rally was peaceful. “We are demanding the President’s rule. This government should be immediately dismissed. There is no quarrel at all between the Garos and our Khasi brothers and sisters. Our fight is against the government and I appeal to all people to live in peace and harmony”.

On the other hand, Meghalaya Deputy Chief Minister Dr. Mukul Sangma blamed NCP and Purno Sangma for trouble in Garo Hills. Dr. Sangma alleged that the former Lok Sabha Speaker threw wild allegations and made attempt to foment communal passion on Garoland issue.

“The demand for Garoland is not new, the GNC and the ANVC had earlier taken up the issue and even NCP in the last assembly elections had brought out the demand for Garoland in their campaign”, Dr Sangma said. “The records of his speeches and meetings indicate that to pursue his own agenda, he has been whipping up communal passion in the State”, the Deputy Chief Minister claimed.

Revealing that the State Cabinet had also taken exception to the move of NCP to communalise the MBSOE issue, Dr. Sangma said that “efforts of vested interests, spearheaded by the NCP caused the GSU to reject the SLC report and to agitate on the unfounded allegation that the SLC recommendation would result in bifurcation of MBOSE.

Meanwhile, in a damage control exercise, Meghalaya Government has ordered a judicial inquiry into September 30 firing in Tura and Williamnagar. Chief Minister D. D. Lapang informed that the State Government has also decided to pay Rs five lakh special financial assistance to the families of nine deceased in addition to Rs 1 lakh which has already been disbursed. He more revealed that the government had directed the district administration to ensure proper medical treatment for all injured persons at State Government’s cost.

On the SLC’s report on MBOSE, the Chief Minister stated that the people of Garo Hills had some reservations on the report. “However, after a series meetings with Deputy Chief Minister Dr Sangma at Tura, the agitating NGOs agreed in principle to fall in line with the SLC report as accepted by the government with some fine tuning wherever required,” he stressed.

It may be mentioned here that the Garos submitted a seven-point charter to the State Government. The Garos wanted those demand to be included in SLC recommendations. Meanwhile, the Garo Society of Shillong met Meghalaya Governor M M Jacob and sought his intervention.

In a memorandum submitted to the Governor, the GSS said the situation should be immediately diffused by revoking random arrest of the students and NGO leaders. They also urged the Governor to look into the issue of relaxation of curfew in Garo Hills.

“Student leaders and NGOs of Garo Hills should be invited for negotiation table with regards to the controversial report of the SLC Committee on MBOSE as till date no student community and NGOs of Garo Hills have been invited for discussion,” the GSS said.

The firing incidents at Tura and Williamnagar have landed the State Government in deep trouble. Two Garo MLAs have already withdrawn support and resigned from the posts of parliamentary secretaries. Independent MLAs Sengman R Marak (Rongram constituency) and Billikid Sangma (Tura) alleged that. “The government has mishandled the situation in Garo Hills resulting in the death of innocent people and owning moral responsibility over the incident, we have decided to come out of the MDA coalition,” they said after withdrawing support.

Besides, demand for resignation of the Garo Ministers and other Garo members of MDA coalition have gained momentum. 11 Garo MLAs mostly from Congress have urged the AICC to pave way for the resignation of the ministers and MLAs for the sake of the peace and tranquility. The MLAs have written a letter in this regard and handed it over to AICC observer Mabel Rebello in the presence of Chief Minister D. D. Lapang and MDA partners at the MDA meeting.

The 11 MLAs are B. K. Sangma (Cong), B. G. Momin (UDP) E. D. Marak (Cong), Zenith Sangma (Cong), Billikid Sangma (Ind), Samuel Sangma (Cong), Nithuram Hajong (Cong), Sengman R Marak (Ind), Manirul Islam Sarkar (Cong), PG Momin (Ind) and Sengran Sangma (Ind).

The eleven MLAs in the letter to AICC  said that certain steps should be taken such as the resignation of the Garo Hills MLAs who are part of MDA including those holding ministerial posts for the sake of    the victims.

It is learnt that at the MDA meeting, Mrs. Rebello pulled up the Chief Minister and the Cabinet ministers for lack of activism to tackle the issues confronting the state including matters related to development. She also reportedly told the Chief Minister and his Cabinet colleagues to concentrate more on development.

However, later addressing a press conference, Mrs. Rebello downplayed the issue and said “All are united and the MDA will make effort to work for the improvement of Garo Hills”; she said and blamed P. A. Sangma and the NCP for the present trouble in Garo Hills.

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