Shillong, Jan 23: Civil society groups in Garo Hills have held “underlying factors” responsible for the recent killing of activist Dilseng M Sangma and sought measures to address such factors.
In a letter addressed to Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Friday, the groups, including ADE, APEX Committee, AYWO, and FAF, expressed concern over the “growing tension” between tribal and non-tribal communities in the region.
They alleged that poor governance, unchecked illegal immigration, and illegal activities like stone mining and timber smuggling are responsible for the “growing tension”.
“Any encroachment into our lands is usually perceived as an existential threat to our community,” the letter stated, highlighting the need for robust coordination between government departments and law enforcement agencies.
They have suggested the need for establishing a coordination mechanism between departments to tackle illegal activities.
“These are the factors why we feel that a robust mechanism in terms of coordination between the Land and Revenue, Home, District Council Affairs, and Forest and Environment departments, Autonomous District Councils, District Administration and District Police Force be constituted so as to act swiftly and effectively in a time-bound manner to uphold the laws of the land which in turn, shall help in maintaining a peaceful atmosphere and will help promote mutual respect among the tribal and the non-tribal communities,” stated the letter.
Underlining the need for setting up a Meghalaya Police battalion camp in sensitive plain belt areas, they stated, “We have all witnessed the situation in the plain belt areas of Garo Hills is very tense at the moment and any sensible person can understand that even a small spark can ignite a box full of explosives.”
“We also understand that bottled up emotions especially fuelled by decades of frustration can explode at any moment and once that happens, it will be very difficult to contain the situation without the presence of a respectable number of police force in such regions and thus, it is our suggestion that a battalion camp of MLP be constructed and made functional in such sensitive areas where there are massive presence of two differing communities whose relationship is unpredictable,” they said.
The groups have also demanded for release of Rs 10 lakh as ex-gratia to the victim’s family.
They also lauded formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to inquire into the incident.
