SHILLONG, Oct 21 - Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma today said that the Government is communicating with different organisations to reduce miscommunication following appearance of communally sensitive banners in the State.
�Confusion has arisen due to comments being made by different groups, including groups from our State or from outside. This can be resolved� we are in the process of communicating with everybody, including the Government of India. We are on the job,� Sangma said.
This afternoon several communally sensitive banners targeting a particular community were pasted at different locations of the State capital. The banners were, however, removed by the East Khasi Hills district officials.
Sangma said that he personally feels that these issues are not major in nature, and that such confusion can be resolved once communication is established among the different groups.
The present tension flared up after a complaint was filed before the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), stating that there was an �institutional harassment� of non-tribal children and women at several villages in Ichamati, Bholganj, Kalibari and Kalatek.
The NCPCR then sought an action-taken report from the district administration. A panel headed by Additional SP (Crime) Jagpal Singh Dhanao conducted an inquiry and submitted its findings to the NCPCR.
The complaint had a ripple effect as many other organisations from outside the State also entered the scene, leading to claims and counter-claims and also FIRs being lodged by different organisations in the State. Meanwhile, the Meghalaya Police has appealed to all communities to maintain harmony.
�It is hereby appealed that the tempo of communal harmony be sustained in the State of Meghalaya and also shall be the endeavour of the state machinery to maintain it at any cost,� the Office of the Director General of Police stated in a release this evening.
The release appealed to the citizens to refrain from making any �unsavoury comments and enactment of any form of social disturbances on the basis of community lines�. �There are some people who are trying to spread communal hatred in the social media platform and other public places intending to falter the social harmony prevailing in the State,� Assistant Inspector General of Police GK Iangrai said. Legal action will be initiated against such persons, he warned.
It may be mentioned here that night curfew from 10 pm to 5 am has been on in the entire East Khasi Hills district since the past several months owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.
