Meghalaya (Shillong): Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Sunday said the state government has received inputs from multiple agencies that attempts are being made to trigger a blast in Shillong.
Sangma said the police are on high alert to ensure the maintenance of peace and tranquillity in the state.
“Once those agencies gave threats of another attempt which would then risk the lives of citizens of our state, the police decided to move swiftly to ensure no other incident takes place and in the process, they moved forward to make the arrest of Thangkhiew),” Sangma said.
Sangma, who returned from New Delhi on Saturday, held a meeting with Director-General of Police R Chandranathan and other senior police officials. It was held against the backdrop of the Laitumkhrah market blast and the killing of former Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) leader Cheristerfield Thangkhiew.
Sangma told reporters that police had found credible and tangible evidence of the involvement of a large number of people, including Thangkhiew, in the blast. He said based on the evidence, the police formulated a strategy on how they should move forward.
The Chief Minister said the government and the police had no intention to harm the former rebel leader but arrest him. “But the circumstances led to the unfortunate incident,” added Sangma.
Stating that the timing of the raid was a tactical move of the police, he said the East Khasi Hills Superintendent of Police submitted a report according to the mandate of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) within 48 hours about the raid conducted at Thangkhiew’s residence.
The chief minister said the SP’s report will be followed by a magisterial inquiry and based on that, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) will look into the matter. He called upon people to maintain peace saying that whatever the government is doing is for their safety.
Asked if the government will order a judicial probe into the killing, Sangma said the NHRC is an autonomous body and once it submits its report, the government can decide how to move forward.
The DGP said the sons of Thangkhiew were detained for questioning and post-funeral, they will help the police in the investigation.
The chief minister said one person has been arrested in connection with the Laitumkhrah blast and the matter is underway.
