TURA, Dec 31 - The Garo Hills saw multiple murders in 2019, though killings related to militancy were relatively fewer. The year saw friends killing friends, wives murdering husbands, husbands murdering wives, among many cases in the region � with the ages of those murdered ranging from six months to 70 years.
In one of the first incidents that took place near the Dalu PS in April, a betel nut trader from Assam�s Mankachar was murdered. The victim, identified as Roshidul Islam, was duped by his driver who helped local criminals kidnap him. Police were able to crack the case easily, leading to the arrest of the criminals as well as the driver, Aziz.
Bonhomie took an ugly turn after two persons, apparently friends of a victim, strangled him to death in April. The assailants had a grudge against their friend. Alom Mondal (18) was the victim, while Sofial Sheikh (18) and Malu Sheikh (24) were found guilty of the murder that took place in an area under the jurisdiction of the Phulbari PS.
The Garo Hills was shaken after an eight-year-old girl from Ruga village in South Garo Hills was raped and murdered by an employee of her father after the accused waylaid the minor while she was returning home. The accused, Bitchon Ghosh, was arrested after he confessed to the crime. The brutal rape and murder in May led to massive protests.
In May again, 65-year-old Minggan Ch Sangma was murdered and his body dumped near Menggotchigre village near Jangrapara under the Tikrikilla PS in West Garo Hills. This killing was the first in a suspected case of alleged witch-hunting though the case is yet to be solved.
In the East Garo Hills in July, angered at the continued abuse of his sister, the brother-in-law, Birit D Shira, of one Francis G Momin murdered him before surrendering to the police. The suspect dumped the body of the victim in a well near Balsrigittim.
In the same month, the murder of a six-year-old girl by an apparently insane man, sent shivers down the spine of residents. The incident occurred near Kharkutta village in North Garo Hills. The accused, Silsrang B Marak, lured the six-year-old from her house on the pretext of hunting crabs, and later killed the victim and dismembered her. He later dumped the body and the head in two different places in the Manda river. The head was recovered, but the body could not be found.
In July, a man was reported missing for over a month in West Garo Hills. Almost the entire family, including the mother, son and son-in-law, were involved in the apparent contract killing. Three contract killers were arrested, leading to the case being cracked. The victim was strangled before being dismembered and buried in an area under the Dadenggre PS limits.
In August, the body of Narjina Begum, a Rajpur resident under the Phulbari PS, was found floating in a river. Her husband, Mominur Islam, was the prime suspect and absconded immediately after the killing.
Recently, a man was murdered after villagers believed he was possessed by spirits. The victim was suffering from fever and blabbered in his sleep, which led to villagers believing he was possessed. While no one was arrested for the murder under the Bajengdoba PS, the man who allegedly gave the advice was the local witch-doctor.
