GUWAHATI: Meghalaya Police arrested three leaders of the Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) in connection with Wednesday’s violence during the organisation’s black flag bike rally in the state capital, Shillong.
The three arrested leaders are KSU president Raymond Kharjana, vice president Pynkmenlang Sanmiet and general secretary Reuben Najiar.
The police said the arrests were made in connection with the assault on civilians, attacks on vehicles, including an arson attack targeting one vehicle, damage to public property and for creating an atmosphere of fear during the bike rally.
A bust of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and a glass case containing a statue of Swami Vivekananda were damaged. Late at night, two vehicles, reportedly attached to the Meghalaya High Court, were attacked in separate incidents in Shillong.
The KSU organised the rally after the expiry of its 15 day ultimatum to the state government to act on its five point charter of demands, which includes the full implementation of the Meghalaya Residents Safety and Security Act, 2016, until an Inner Line Permit system is introduced in the state.
A day after the violence, the movement of vehicles between Guwahati and Shillong remained disrupted on Thursday.
Assam based taxi and commercial vehicle drivers blocked the Shillong Guwahati Road at two places on the interstate border, protesting the alleged attacks on Assam vehicles, including tourist vehicles, in Shillong on Wednesday. The attacks reportedly left some people from Assam, including tourists, injured.
The Assam State Driver Union condemned the attacks.
“This is not the first such incident. Vehicles from Assam faced numerous such attacks in Meghalaya in the past. Every organisation has the right to protest but it cannot attack civilians and vehicles,” a leader of the union said.
He criticised the Assam and Meghalaya governments for allegedly failing to protect Assam vehicles, their drivers and passengers in Meghalaya.