Conflicts in West Garo Hills, Meghalaya, reportedly escalated after police began shooting following clashes between protesters and security forces that killed two people. The climate in which it took place was unsafe overall. Therefore, the crime went forward with an added police force in response, and even restrictions were established on areas where this took place.
Official reports indicated that the clashes were caused by numerous protesters, who were, it is believed, having an open confrontation with police officers. However, it soon turned into violent clashes from some of the protesters where the reports also described how they threw stones, assaulted community property and triggered a police assault to break up the crowd.
Initially, the protesters were enforced by the police with a combination of lathi and tear gas shells, and nowhere near steady. When the crowd became unmanageable and threatened public safety and security, though, police reportedly opened fire, state officials said. The shooting resulted in two dead and reportedly additional wounded, injured in the combat.
The wounded were taken by an ambulance to nearby hospitals, where they had received treatment. Nobody has been able to know who was killed while an investigation is continuing into why they fired their shots. The unrest, which has instigated panic and built fear and tension across parts of Tura, the centre of West Garo Hills district with its headquarters in Tura, has left residents tense and isolated.
Much further security has been stepped up, with police and paramilitary forces patrolling and making rounds to check, monitor or protect the area from another episode of violence or confrontation. Officials tell locals not to panic, to keep their cool and not talk to anyone. Top police officers said the administration was "monitoring" and "responding" to restore peace and security and the government was also addressing the situation.
Meghalaya Police meanwhile has also launched an inquiry into the case. Police reported that the cases involving use of force will be investigated and follow-up measures undertaken if procedural problems are identified. They called on local leaders and civil society organizations not to be rash and pursue animosity and undermine any dialogue and cooperation between all parties, and argued that the peaceful settlement of grievances must include dialogue rather than violence.
They therefore begged the government to address what had generated this unrest in the first place. So the crisis is a subtle contradiction of law and order a gentle tension that has always been there. The authorities are still investigating and still on high alert in West Garo Hills, however all three of them are working together to make West Garo Hills ‘normal again,’ including the police also.
