An Independence of Contrasts: What Led to the Recent Crisis in Shillong

On 10 August, an IED blast went off at laitumkhrah Iew, a busy marketplace at heart of Shillong, injuring 2 people.

While the nation celebrated its 75th 'Azadi ka Mahotsav', Shillong simmered in chaos and lawlessness.

On 15 August, residents woke up to horrific scenes of miscreants pelting stones, driving around in captured police vehicles and later torching it, brandishing weapons and vandalising government and private properties, including the personal residence of Chief Minister Conrad Sangma, that was attacked with Molotov cocktails.

The anarchy was an outcome of the police encounter of Cherishterfield Thangkhiew, a former general secretary of Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC), a banned militant organisation that aims to free the state from outsiders or 'Dkhars'

What Led To The Encounter?

On 10 August, an IED blast went off at laitumkhrah Iew, a busy marketplace in the heart of Shillong, injuring two people. Local MLA and Congress legislature, Ampareen Lyngdoh, rushed to the spot.

Referring to the blast she says, "We became victims of something we only see in movies or hear through the news."

Stating that this was a case of complete intelligence failure, she adds, "There was a militant outfit (HNLC) that claimed responsibility for the blast and we have demanded that those responsible for the placement of the IED be nabbed."

In a press briefing, Sangma said that his government would not spare anybody involved in the blast.

On the morning of 13 August, news broke out about Thangkhiew's death during a retaliatory attack in the wee hours at his Mawlai residence.

In a statement, Meghalaya DGP, R Chandranathan said that they had 'incontrovertible evidence' against him in the IED blast, and when they went to capture him, he mounted an attack on the cops with a knife. This statement by the police was backed by the CM, who said that there was "credible and tangible information" of Thangkhiew's involvement in the blasts.

However, the act of extrajudicial killing of an ex-militant who had surrendered before the Deputy CM in 2018 sent shockwaves across the state and citizens found the explanation by the police murky.

'Bad Police Operation Made People Sympathetic to Man who was Earlier Part of HNLC'

The family of the victim alleged that he was killed in a "fake encounter". Pressure groups, political parties and Dorbar Shnongs (village authority) to ordinary residents all condemned the extrajudicial killing in one voice. Bipul Thangkhiew, president of pressure group, Ri Bhoi Youth Federation, said in a media interaction, "Even the highly qualified police like Mumbai Police did not kill Ajmal Kasab and tried to capture him alive."

The two sons of Thangkhiew were also picked up by the cops assuming that they were his security guards. This further enraged the residents, especially in Mawlai, an area where Thangkhiew lived.

Just the fact that the police barged into his house at 3AM is enough to rile people up because that's not how things should be done

Says Avner Pariat, spokesperson of the newly launched political party in Meghalaya, New Dawn.

He adds,

"This is public anger against the police because they've been very high handed and corrupt, and this has boiled over into a political tussle between people and the Conrad Sangma government. It was a bad operation on the part of the police, and because of it, people are now sympathetic to a person who was once a part of a banned outfit that killed people in the past."

Avner Pariat, spokesperson of the newly launched political party in Meghalaya, New Dawn.

Furthermore, the Meghalaya Human Rights Commission took cognisance of the encounter and said, "The instant case appears to have resulted in gross human rights violation."

What Happened After the Encounter?

Pressure groups like the Hynniewtrep Youth Council appealed to the youth to congregate for the funeral procession of Thangkhiew on August 15 at Mawlai and to also carry black flags to protest his cold-blooded killing by the state forces.

Soon enough, it turned into a law and order situation when some unidentified miscreants attacked a police outpost at Mawkynroh, Mawlai and stole a police Scorpio.

They paraded the city in the vehicle, wielding weapons that were inside the car and later torching the car.

"We were shocked to see the viral video of some youngsters brandishing weapons and screaming slogans on a major thoroughfare of the city in a battered-looking SUV," says Lyngdoh.

Upon being outnumbered by the miscreants, police officers in charge of the outpost fled to nearby forests.

"We don't know what kind of weapons or how much ammunition they (miscreants) walked away with or if the police force has tracked down the perpetrators," added Lyngdoh.

She stresses that the government was yet again caught unawares and because the weapons have not been retrieved yet, the lives of citizens remain jeopardised.

Following this, a curfew was imposed in Shillong and internet was suspended and TUR, a progressive people's organisation, condemned this move by the government, saying this was anti-people.

Home Minister Resigns, Meghalaya Cabinet Constitutes Judicial Enquiry into Killing of Thangkhiew

Rev Kyrsoibor Pyrtuh of TUR says that people, especially the daily wage earners, already hard-hit due to the pandemic, are unable to work because of the curfew, and students are losing out on their studies due to internet suspension.

Making matters more controversial for the Conrad Sangma government, Meghalaya Home Minister Lakhmen Rymbui, resigned while expressing shock.

at the raid and subsequent encounter of Thangkhiew and requested for an inquiry into the matter. Lyngdoh, who is also a member of the opposition, asked, "If the Home Minister was not privy to the raid, who was the authority that okayed the proposal of the raid?"

As a result of heavy criticism and protest in the city, on 16 August, the Meghalaya cabinet decided to constitute a judicial inquiry into the killing of Thangkhiew and to maintain law and order in the city, a peace committee would be set up. The ongoing curfew was further extended till 5 AM of August 18 and mobile internet suspended for another 24 hours. The CM also requested additional military companies from the union HM Amit Shah to ensure peace and stability in the city and adjoining areas.

(Paulomi C Trivedi is a Shillong-born Mumbai-based journalist and co-founder of webtokri.)