Shillong musician alleges assault by SP left him with a fractured hand, broken finger

The musician, Manavon Massar, took to the social media alleging that following the assault by SP (Traffic) Bashan J Laloo, he was left with a fractured hand, broken finger besides other bruises.
Manavon Massar (Photo | Facebook)
Manavon Massar (Photo | Facebook)

GUWAHATI: A musician in Meghalaya capital Shillong was allegedly brutally beaten up by a superintendent of police (SP) for violation of traffic rules.

The musician, Manavon Massar, took to the social media alleging that following the assault by SP (Traffic) Bashan J Laloo, he was left with a fractured hand, broken finger besides other bruises. The
incident took place on December 19 evening.

“…I was caught in a (traffic) jam for long. As the other side was clear, I overtook for a bit. Driving a small Maruti (car), I did not disturb anybody. I didn’t know that I overtook an SP’s Bolero. He, being a mad man, chased me, took me out of my car and lathi-charged me continuously while his gunmen held my friend and artist Dharmesh Parmar. I had no time to understand what happened or to say sorry or to explain or anything. He thought I was an outsider driving an Assam registration (car). So, he was speaking to me in Hindi and hit me till I got a chance to speak and spoke to him in Khasi and got him surprised. (When) I asked why you have beaten me so much, he said if this were Garo hills, I will just shoot you,” Massar wrote on social media.

He said he was taken to a police station where the SP allegedly abused him more. Later, he alleged he was made to undergo medical tests to find out if he was drunk or a drug addict but the results were negative.

“…Now I have a fractured finger; that too on my left hand and I am left-handed. My calf and other parts of my body also hurt so much that I can’t walk, stand or sleep at ease…Why you don’t catch the rapist(s), the terrorist(s), the murderers the same way but only bully those with less physical strength or without a
gun,” Massar wrote.

He filed a FIR with the police and lodged a complaint with the Meghalaya Human Rights Commission.

The SP rubbished the charges. He said the musician was detained for overtaking vehicles.

“It’s a mischievous social media post and we are going to file an FIR against it. They tried to communalize the matter which is very dangerous. You have to be responsible on the social media platform. They are basically trying to get sympathy,” Laloo said.

He said an FIR had been already filed by the police for rash driving and alleged aggressive behaviour of Massar. 

Activist Angela Rangad criticized the police action.

“This is a very unfortunate incident. This was not a case of road rage. He (SP) was not implementing traffic laws but abusing his power. If it was violation of traffic rules, there are rules to deal with it,” she said.

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