Golflink assault case: Youth succumbs to injuries at NEIGRIHMS, KSU to organize protest rally at Mawkyrwat

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaMarch 28, 2021

A youth from South West Khasi Hills district on Sunday succumbed to his injuries at the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS). 

Pherlangroi Myrthong (20) from Wahkaji village along with his friend were assaulted at Golflink area on March 21. 

However, Myrthong was declared dead at 4.45 am today by the hospital authority. 

Leaders and members of the Khasi Students Union (KSU) were also present at NEIGRIHMS to express solidarity with the family of the deceased victims even as they warned stern action if police fail to arrest the culprits. 

Father of the deceased told reporters that his son had come to Shillong for working as a daily wage labourer. 

“Unfortunately, he along with his friends were assaulted at Golflink area by people who are suspected to be Garo and Nepali,” he said. 

He urged the police department to take action against the culprits involved in the assault case. 

On Friday, the state police said that effort is being made to identify and arrest those involved in assaulting the local boys at Golflink area.

In a statement, East Khasi Hills district police chief Sylvester Nongtnger had also maintained that there was no communal angle to the case of assault that has been established in the investigation so far.

The SP had said that during initial enquiry, statement of eyewitnesses at the PO were recorded who revealed that the victims were part of a group who were playing football at Golf link on the 21st March, 2021 at around 5.00 PM.

“After the game, they stayed back and consumed some local liquor. Later in the evening more groups of people arrived at the same area for similar activities. The victim’s party got into an altercation with one such group but eventually they compromised and began revelling together,” he had said.

At this point, he said the loud noise emanating from their group irked a third party in the vicinity who then reacted by pelting beer bottles towards the victim’s group.

“The eyewitnesses further revealed that the members of the third party belong to a tribal community of Meghalaya as per their language and accent. Thereafter, the eyewitnesses fled from the area,” Nongtnger had said.

Condemning the incident, KSU chief Lambokstar Marngar however slammed the police department for allegedly failing to nab the culprits behind the murder of the youth. 

“We are sorry to say that the police are only quick in taking action if the incident involved non tribals by arresting local youth without any evidence,” he said. 

Stating that the Union will find out those involved in the incident, Marngar also asked non-tribals to stop provoking the union. “The government always appeal to NGOs not to take law into their own hands but I feel that the government should also understand that it is not illegal to protect ourselves,” he said. 

Marngar also demanded the state government to speed up implementation of effective laws to check influx of outsiders into the state.

Meanwhile, the KSU South West Khasi Hills district has decided to organize a protest rally to condemn the killing of Myrthong, at Mawkyrwat on March 31.