Meghalaya: Survivors Recount Terror as Ethnic Violence Spreads
Night curfew has been imposed in most parts of Shillong and mobile internet services remained suspended.
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Uphas Uddin was stabbed to death in his sleep in a remote Bangladesh-border village in Shella; 28-year-old Aditya Kumar was stabbed with a broken bottle in a busy Shillong neighbourhood; Rajua Karim, 31, a state government employee was assaulted at 1 am in West Khasi Hills district as violence continued in eastern Meghalaya for the third straight day on Sunday, 1 March.
Meghalaya Police bulletins note these and multiple other incidents of assault on non-tribals since Friday’s incident where Lurshai Hynniewta, 35, a local Khasi man, was killed as violence broke out after a meeting by Khasi Students' Union (KSU), an influential student body, against Citizenship (Amendment) Act, demanding the implementation of an Inner Line Permit regime. The students' union claims it was a planned attack even while the police say violence followed provocation by KSU members.
Ichamati, where the clashes took place on Friday, is a bazar town in East Khasi Hills district and has a majority non-tribal population. The state has a history of several instances of ethnic violence where Bengalis, Nepalese, among others, have been targeted.
‘Situation Is Tense,’ Says Meghalaya Police
“Situation is tense,” a senior Meghalaya Police official said, on condition of anonymity. “We are bracing for tomorrow,” the official added, pointing to inputs on the possibility of violence on Monday as the body of Hynniewta will be cremated in his hometown Sohra, a popular tourist destination. Security has been beefed up in all non-tribal pockets in Shillong and in other parts of the state, the official said.
The police say they are also investigating other angles in the murder of Uddin, whom they claim has a history of involvement in cattle smuggling. Three unknown assailants entered Uddin’s house in Pyrkan village and stabbed him to death, according to the police bulletin.
Police are still waiting for a breakthrough in Saturday’s incident in the crowded Bara Bazar area of Shillong, where a group of masked assailants went on a stabbing spree, killing one and injuring nine others – all non-tribals.
“It looks like the work of trained assailants, the way Khukri was used in the attacks. We are investigating past incidents where similar modus operandi was used,” said the police official, not ruling out the “role of agent provocateurs”.
Survivors Recount Ordeal
Jodu Choudhary said two people came from behind and stabbed him. “They wore masks,” said the 52-year-old who came to Shillong in 1982 from Assam’s Silchar. He is recovering in the Male Surgery Ward of Civil Hospital in Shillong.
After knifing Choudhary on his shoulder, the attackers took on his neighbour, Rupchand Dewan, 29, another vegetable seller from Assam’s Barpeta. Dewan, who sustained multiple stab wounds, did not survive the attack.
In Laban, a mixed neighbourhood in Shillong, where Dewan lived in a one-room rented accommodation, his landlady, Parveen Nongrum, broke down as she described the incident. She had come back from the market on Saturday afternoon when she saw a crowd in the lane. “I knew there has been some violence. I called Dewan’s brother. He just said he is no more,” she said.
Dewan and his wife, who did not have any children, had adopted a daughter about two weeks ago in Barpeta, where the wife lives with the family. “He was working hard to ensure there is enough for the new member of the family,” Parveen Nongrum said.
Back in the Male Surgery Ward at Civil Hospital, Akash Ali has lost his voice. The 27-year-old who works for a courier service and drives a tempo had gone to Langsning when he was attacked by unknown miscreants. “They vandalised his tempo and hit his head with a hammer,” said his brother as Ali tried to describe his injuries by pointing to his face. “He has injuries on his jaw too,” his brother said.
On another bed in the ward, Saiful Ali struggled to describe his address to the doctors. He had just regained consciousness. His face had cut marks and he could not open one of his eyes, which was badly injured. “I work as a mechanic in Bholaganj (near Sohra). They made me get down and thrashed me,” Ali said, as a doctor stood at his side and tried to find out his complete address in Assam’s Goalpara district.
Readyon Stone Nongrum, assistant general secretary of KSU, says he won’t be surprised if the violence continues. “The situation is unpredictable,” said Nongrum, who spent seven months in prison after he was booked for murder in 2013, as violence erupted amid protests demanding Inner Line Permit. Nongrum says he was framed in the case.
CM Conrad Sangma Orders Magisterial Probe
Nongrum is not aware of who is behind the recent spate of violence but claims that Friday’s attack was premeditated and planned in advance by the non-tribal, largely the Bengali-speaking population in Ichamati.
“They came armed with sticks and machetes,” Nongrum said, describing how he ran to save his life even as the mob caught hold of Lurshai Hynniewta, who was badly thrashed and later succumbed in a health centre.
He said the non-tribals started the violence. “We have been holding so many meetings. We want the Inner Line Permit regime. But these non-tribals support the CAA. They attacked us when we were dispersing.” His friend Johnson Nongikhlaw agreed. “The incident has hurt everyone across the state,” he said.
The police, however, has a different version of events and said non-tribals retaliated after KSU members burnt a haystack at the edge of the market and attempted to burn a house.
Meanwhile, fear has gripped non-tribals and tribals alike. “I will look for another spot to sell vegetables. I won’t go back to Bara Bazar anymore. In three decades since I have been in Shillong, I have not seen these knife attacks,” Choudhury said.
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