Following the killings of two individuals in the state last week, two student union members were detained on Wednesday, putting the Khasi and Jaintia hills of Meghalaya on high alert.
Arrests of KSU Members in Connection to Deaths Following CAA Protest
Members of the Khasi Students’ Union (KSU), Shanborlang Shati and Mesadapbor Skhembil, were detained by police in relation to the deaths of two persons in Ichamati last week following a demonstration against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. After appearing in court, the two guys were placed under seven days of police custody.
Ishan Singh and Sujit Dutta’s remains were discovered about 80 km from Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya, and near the border with Bangladesh. Whether the killings are connected to the protest has not yet been confirmed by the police.
Leading a group of 300 protesters, the KSU demanded that its cadre not be “hunted like militants” at the Sohra police station in response to the arrests.
Incident at Malwai Police Station and Response from Authorities
At Shillong’s Malwai police station, an unidentified individual threw a petrol bomb, causing a police vehicle to catch fire. East Khasi Hills District police chief Rituraj Ravi stated that the arrests were made on the basis of “strong evidence.” “They are protesting against the arrests made and we have explained that we are investigating the two murders and law shall take its own course,” he stated.
In a letter to President Draupadi Murmu, the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) said that the killings on March 27 were a “stark reminder of the reign of terror against the non-tribal communities residing in Meghalaya.”
“After an anti-CAA march, two innocent Hindus, Ishan Singh and Sujit Dutta, were brutally killed in Ichamati, a village in Meghalaya’s East Khasi Hills area. The letter claims that a pressure group organized an anti-CAA event that resulted in the media’s widespread reporting of the death of two innocent Hindus by unidentified miscreants.
