Tura, July 24: Night curfew has been imposed in Tura town in West Garo Hills following violence during the peaceful meeting between Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma and members of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and NGOs at the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) in Tura on Monday.
The meeting, aimed at addressing the demands of the protesting civil bodies, took a tumultuous turn when a group of agitated vested interest individuals in the crowd resorted to pelting stones at the CMO building and security personnel, and attempted to break open the gate on Monday evening.
Despite efforts to quell the situation, the aggression escalated, resulting in injuries to atleast 5 police personnel in the ensuing confrontation with the crowd.
Tragically, an ambulance carrying injured police personnel was also attacked by the vested interest agitators. The police personnel were immediately taken to Tura Civil Hospital for medical attention.
Responding to the incident, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma has announced an ex-gratia of Rs. 50,000 for the injured police personnel and assured that all medical expenses for their treatment would be borne by the government.
The Civil Society groups, led by ACHIK, along with GHSMC and others, have been staging an indefinite hunger strike for two weeks in Tura, West Garo Hills. Their primary demands include the establishment of a winter capital in Tura and the retrospective implementation of the roster system/backlog policy.
Since the violence erupted, which was in the evening hours, Chief Minister and accompanying officials including PHE Minister Marcuise N. Marak have been inside the CMO building. The CM has been personally monitoring the situation and ensuring the well-being of the injured personnel, choosing to remain with them.
Till the filing of this report, which is around 9.30 PM, CM Sangma was still inside the CMO building in Tura.
Earlier, when the violence broke out and agitators were pelting all sorts of materials at the CMO building, police resorted to firing tear gas shells to disperse the crowd. However, it took a long time for the agitators to disperse.
The incident has sparked concerns among the people also alarmed the civil bodies. They have stressed that the agitating members of the crowd and those indulging in violence are not their members, pointing to involvement of vested interest groups.
