SHILLONG, DEC 5: The Dorbar Shnong of Mukroh has submitted a memorandum to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, seeking a CBI investigation into the November 22, 2022-incident in which five residents were killed in Assam police firing.
The memorandum, submitted through Meghalaya Governor CH Vijayashankar on Friday, also urges the Centre to resolve the Assam-Meghalaya boundary dispute at the earliest and instruct the State of Assam to stop all works in the area of Mukroh as defined by the notification notified by JHADC in 1968.
“We urge the Government of India to expedite the CBI’s investigation and resolve the boundary dispute to put an end to the suffering of the residents of Mukroh Village,” the memorandum states.
“We are subjected to atrocities and harassment from both the Karbi underground and the Assam Government and KAAC due to the ongoing Assam Meghalaya boundary dispute,” the dorbar shnong said.
The residents of Mukroh Village have faced numerous atrocities and harassment at the hands of Assam police personnel, Assam forest personnel, and forest personnel of Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council when they went for agricultural farming or cutting of firewoods.
The State of Assam’s claim that almost half of Mukroh Village falls under its jurisdiction is strongly opposed by the Dorbar Shnong Mukroh, which cites a wrong interpretation of the 1951 notification issued by the then Government of Composite Assam.
The memorandum also highlights the illegal clearance of forest belonging to the residents of Mukroh in Salang, Mukroh, and other areas by the State of Assam and KAAC, despite stern opposition by Dorbar Shnong Mukroh
The residents of Mukroh village have faced numerous atrocities at the hands of Karbi underground outfits, including the Karbi National Volunteers (KNV) and United People’s Democratic Solidarity (UPDS), since 2000.
According to the village dorbar, the incidents include the brutal murder of six residents, including a minor, by KNV cadres on February 8, 2003, in the forest of Umlaphiah, Mukroh Village. The victims were Dik Sumer, Phun Hasem, Dia Myrten, Pro Hasem, Wen Samaiang (under 18 yrs), and Treibor Talang.
The dorbar also reported that the KNV and UPDS cadres served extortion notices to the Khasi Pnar people in Blocks I and II and Mukroh, warning them not to cultivate disputed lands without prior permission. In March 2005, the outfits served an annual tax amount of Rs 10 lakh to the residents of Mukroh.
The atrocities forced the residents of Umlaphiah, Mukroh to flee their homes, and the school set up by JHADC was closed down and shifted to the main part of Mukroh village.
The Mukroh village dorbar has documented several other incidents of violence, including the killing of Tdan Shadap in April 2003, and death threats issued by UPDS to residents of Mukroh and Saba villages over a ransom of Rs 5 lakh in June 2003.
The residents of Mukroh village have been living in fear and uncertainty due to the ongoing violence and harassment by the Karbi underground outfit
