Home minister Shah has assured probe by central agency into ‘firing by Assam Police’: Conrad

NEW DELHI, Nov 24 (PTI): Meghalaya chief minister Conrad Sangma on Thursday said Union home minister Amit Shah has assured that he would act on his request for a probe by a central agency into the “firing by Assam Police” along the states’ border.

Talking to reporters here, he said during his meeting with Shah, he also demanded justice for lives lost in the firing and sought action against those responsible.

He stressed that Assam Police personnel had fired upon “innocent people” in Mukroh village of West Jaintia Hills in Meghalaya.

Six people, including a forest guard, were killed in violence along the Assam-Meghalaya border in the early hours of Tuesday, after a truck allegedly laden with illegally felled timber was intercepted by forest personnel of Assam.

Sangma said he also requested the Centre to intervene in the border dispute with Assam to improve dialogue and trust between the two states.

“Home Minister Amit Shah has assured he would act on our request for a probe into the border firing today itself,” he said.

The guilty will be punished but we should maintain peace at this hour, he added.

Sangma was accompanied by his Cabinet colleagues in his meeting with Shah.

Meanwhile, the situation along the Assam-Meghalaya border, where six people were killed in a village following violent clashes, remained tense but peaceful and a large number of security personnel have been deployed in the area.

Restrictions under Section 144 of the CrPC have also been imposed in the clash site and surrounding areas.

Meanwhile, the Meghalaya government extended suspension of mobile internet services in at least seven Khasi-Jaintia Hills districts in the eastern part of the state till Saturday, officials said.

“To prevent misuse of social media to disturb peace and tranquillity, and to maintain law and order, mobile internet and data services stand withdrawn for a period of 48 hours,” Meghalaya home department secretary CVD Diengdoh told PTI.

Mobile internet services were suspended in the seven districts on Tuesday, hours after the violence erupted.