GUWAHATI: One person was stabbed to death in Shillong on Saturday as parts of Meghalaya continued to remain tense following Friday’s clash at Ichamati in East Khasi Hills between members of Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) and non-tribals at the end of a meeting over Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and Inner Line Permit (ILP) that left one person dead and several others injured.
The fresh violence erupted in Shillong’s Bara Bazar area on Saturday morning in which one person was stabbed to death and at least six others were injured. The person killed was a vegetable vendor. He was grievously wounded and he succumbed to his injuries later.
The incident forced the authorities to re-impose curfew. It was imposed for 10 hours in Shillong and its adjoining areas on Friday night. Mobile internet services have been also suspended in six districts for 48 hours from 10 pm of Friday while SMS services have been limited to five per day.
Chief Minister Conrad Sangma took stock of the situation at a meeting with Home Minister Lahkmen Rymbui and top officials of the police and civil administration. He also met Governor Tathagata Roy and briefed him on the law and order situation. A probe into Friday’s violence was ordered.
The governor appealed for calm. Rymbui said the government was taking all steps to restore normalcy. The authorities fanned out personnel of the police and paramilitary forces across vulnerable areas to foil any untoward incident.
East Khasi Hills Superintendent of Police Claudia A Lyngwa said eight persons, named in the FIR for involvement in Friday’s violence, had been arrested.
Meghalaya Police issued a statement over the violence at Ichamati, which is close to the India-Bangladesh border. Non-tribals are in a majority here.
The police said the KSU had organised a meeting at Ichamati on Friday afternoon and after it was over, clashes broke out between KSU members and local non-tribals.
“The KSU members burnt a haystack at the edge of the market and attempted to burn a house. The non-tribals retaliated and stoned one bus carrying KSU members…Four members of KSU were injured. Two were sent to Ichamati CHC and released while two others were referred to Sohra CHC,” the police said, adding “A person driving a local taxi…succumbed to his injuries,” the police said.
The KSU is opposed to CAA and favours the introduction of ILP in the state. The ILP is a travel document enforced in Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh. A non-native is required to carry it while s/he is traveling to any of these states. It permits stay for a limited period.