AITC demand independent probe into death of ex-HNLC leader

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaSeptember 10, 2022

The opposition All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) on Friday demanded institution of an independent inquiry into the alleged “criminal conspiracy” behind the killing of the former Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) leader (L) Cheristerfield Thangkhiew last year.

Addressing newsmen hours after the report of the One Man Commission of Inquiry was tabled in the Assembly, Leader of Opposition Mukul Sangma asked the people of the state to raise the question whether there was a criminal conspiracy resulting in the death of (L) Thangkhiew.

“There has to be an independent enquiry to find the answer,” he said adding that there are multiple agencies like NIA and CBI that can perform an independent enquiry.

“All laws of the land should be directed to rule out whether or not there was a criminal conspiracy. The government has to do that to win back the confidence of the state,” Sangma asserted.

He said the government has been acting as an accused otherwise if they are after the accused then why would they say no to this demand.

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Stating that killing a potential man who could give information is counterproductive, Sangma said such information is crucial for the security of the state.

“If they wanted to arrest him, they would have enriched themselves with information crucial to investigations. In the matter of pursuing any instance of crime, the inputs are of paramount importance. The sources of inputs, evidences are destroyed.”

Stating that the report of the Commission should have been made available to the public, he said It is incumbent upon the government to take all necessary actions.

“However, in this case, justice has been denied. Consequently, which creates a situation where there is a lack of trust in the government and the authority,” he said.

Sangma said the report is indicative of how there is culpable and thoughtless use of force in the operation meant to arrest the ex-militant leader

“Please remember that the Meghalaya police have stood the test of time. They have faced bigger challenges in restoring peace over the mushrooming militant organisations in the state. There have been innumerable raids over the years. We have gone through situations where the challenges were formidable with banned militant outfits. There have been multiple raids in urban and rural areas.

Also Read | Govt to call Tactical Team-I for explanation into ‘poor execution’ of ops: CM

Once a piece of information is received from the intelligence inputs, the whole operation is done in such a way that there is minimal collateral damage. Minimal loss of families in the neighbourhood and of police personnel is to be ensured,” he said.

“The usual procedure is to cordon off the area. However, in this case, the whole house was already surrounded by several police organisations in a raid which is reflected in the report. The usual action is that they wait for dawn so that the visibility permits minimal damage. According to the SoP, it is followed everywhere across the state. So, they should have waited one or two hours more. Why was the SoP not followed all across the state?” he asked.

Stating that the men were highly trained, Sangma said, “We take pride in the efficiency of the police organisation. I had no reason to believe it was because of incompetence. The Police have been trained and have gone through similar kinds of experiences in the past thus, I am putting the question before the government and the government has to answer the people as what led to the unfortunate death.”

He said a general perception starts superseding everything else wherein people should not lack trust and confidence in the system.

“It is the trust of people in the system which sustains our democracy. The government needs to instill confidence in me, you and the people. If there was a predetermined ill motive, the question persists whether it was a criminal conspiracy?”

Also Read | Inquiry report reveals excessive use of force by police ops led to death of ex-HNLC leader

Pointing out that there are certain areas where some portions have been erased in the report tabled in the Assembly, Sangma said since this is pertaining to an incident involving alleged killing, therefore certain names are not revealed, though it would reflect in the confidence of the government.

“This is in consistency with what we practice since certain names may have certain ramifications in the judicial interventions,” he said while adding overall, the course of the case can be influenced, which is why the names are withheld. “Whether they wanted to arrest him or kill him: the question lies therein,” he said.