MDA Govt to table inquiry report into death of ex-HNLC leader on September 9, following surprise protest in front of secretariat

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaAugust 5, 2022

Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong on Friday assured that the government will table the report of the inquiry commission into the alleged killing of former HNLC leader (L) Cheristerfield Thangkhiew on September 9, the first day of the Assembly’s autumn session. 

The assurance was given to a delegation of the Sur Ka Bri U Hynniewtrep or the Voice of the People of Hynniewtrep after they staged a surprise protest against the delay to make public the inquiry report in front of the secretariat.

Speaking to media persons, Tynsong said that he has assured the delegation that the report of the inquiry commission will be placed on the table of the House during the upcoming autumn session of the state Assembly which will start from September 9.

“It is confirmed that the autumn session will start from September 9 and on that same day itself the inquiry report will be placed on the table of the House. I have requested all of them to have patience and till such time is reached you will know all the details of the report,” Tynsong said.

He said while the commission is being guided by an Act, the committee is something which is upto the government.

He informed that the report of the One Man Commission of Inquiry is one of the fastest to be laid on the table of the House and to be made public adding it is similar to CAG report where it cannot be made public till it is laid on the table of the House.

Tynsong however said that earlier the government had also assured all stakeholders including traditional heads of Mawlai Town Dorbar that action will be taken by the state government as per the recommendations of the commission of inquiry.

The deputy chief minister said the term of the commission had to be extended for more than two or three times based on the request of its chairman and that it is not a government tactic to delay.

“Hearings of this type of cases take a lot of time. Sometimes the witnesses are not free and when they are not free the chairman has to extend the date. So these are the procedures where practically we need to understand and practically need to accept it,” he said.

Meanwhile, organizing secretary of the group, Thomas Passah said the government has given a clear assurance that on September 9, the report will be placed on the table of the House and that this was as per provisions of the Inquiry Commission Act, 1952.

“However, we will verify this by studying in detail to see whether there are any clauses in the Act which stipulate that the inquiry commission report cannot be made public and can only be placed in the table of the House,” he said.

 Passah said, “We have always been taught that law is equal for everybody – for somebody who steals in the market or for somebody who steals from the government or for somebody who kills in the market or for somebody who got killed by the government, law is equal and we expect that law should prevail and justice should be given to the house of late Cheristerfield Thangkhiew.”

He said that they were forced to come out to the streets after the government has failed to give them appointments for the past one month.

The leader of the group also informed that the delegation had also expressed the reason for them to be anxious over the report was due to the fact that the government has failed to fulfill the demand to suspend the police officials who were involved in the act.

“This is one of the sad stories that in order for transparency to be there we believe that the police officials involved should have been suspended so that the report is transparent and is given in the right way to deliver justice,” he said.