The Assam and Meghalaya governments on Saturday reviewed the situation following the violent incident in Shillong on August 19, Meghalaya Deputy Chief Minister, S Dhar assuring that stringent action would be taken against those responsible.
The more than three-hour meeting was held at State Guest House No. 1 at Koinadhara, Khanapara, in the presence of Assam Border Protection and Development Minister Atul Bora, Meghalaya Deputy Chief Minister S Dhar, Chief Secretaries and senior officials of both states.
The meeting followed the directions of the Chief Ministers of Assam and Meghalaya after violence erupted in Shillong during a black flag bike rally organised by the Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) on Wednesday. The incident reportedly involved stone-pelting, attacks on vehicles and arson at different locations, with several vehicles, including Assam-registered vehicles, being damaged.
Addressing a joint press conference after the meeting, Dhar expressed regret over the incident and assured the Assam government that those responsible would face action. He said the Meghalaya Police had arrested senior leaders of the KSU and registered 15 FIRs in connection with the violence.
Dhar said the Meghalaya government had constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to identify and take action against all persons involved in the violence, particularly those responsible for attacking Assam-registered vehicles. He added that five masked individuals allegedly involved in the August 19 incident had already been identified.
Assam minister Atul Bora said 3,770 Assam-registered vehicles had been safely escorted out of Meghalaya following the incident. He said the Assam Control Room received 54 distress calls involving 174 people, while the Meghalaya government had received 379 distress calls.
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To strengthen coordination and ensure the safety of people travelling between the two states, the governments agreed to establish a dedicated coordination mechanism involving the IGP (Special Branch) of Assam Police and IGP (Law and Order) of Meghalaya Police, along with dedicated helplines. The mechanism will remain operational until the situation returns to normal.
The two governments also agreed to constitute permanent district-level joint committees as well as a joint committee dealing specifically with tourist transport, with the objective of improving coordination and preventing similar incidents in the future.
Meanwhile, protests by the Assam Drivers’ Association and other organisations continued at Jorhat along the Assam-Meghalaya border on Saturday. Protesters reportedly prevented Meghalaya-registered vehicles from entering Assam and demanded stronger measures from both governments to ensure the safety of people and vehicles travelling in Meghalaya.
Bora appealed to people in both states to maintain peace and tranquillity, stressing the importance of preventing the situation from escalating further.
Describing Assam and Meghalaya as “brother and sister” states, Dhar said the joint efforts were aimed at restoring normalcy and strengthening confidence between the two sides. He said compensation would be provided for vehicles damaged in the violence in accordance with the law and expressed confidence that the situation would stabilise shortly.
Dhar further said the evacuation of Assam-registered vehicles and stranded people would be completed within 48 hours, as both governments continued coordinated efforts to bring the situation fully under control.
(with ANI inputs)
