Meghalaya BJP links Garo Hills NGO member’s killing to illegal mining nexus
Calling for strict action, BJP asks Chief Minister Conrad Sangma to ensure probe goes beyond arrests alone
Somber scenes across West Garo Hills (AT Image)
Shillong, Jan 11: The Meghalaya BJP has claimed that the member of an NGO who died due to assault in Garo Hills on January 9 last was carried out “by a group of people involved in illegal mining” in Garo Hills.
The Chief Spokesperson of the BJP, Mariahom Kharkrang said, the death of Dilseng M Sangma after he was assaulted "by a group of people involved in illegal mining... brings to fore the menace of illegal mining in Meghalaya and the disasters that periodically arise from it.”
He said the death has sent “every civilised citizen of the state in utter shock, dismay and disbelief.” Citing the reports of illegal mining, Kharkrang said, the state has witnessed such events in the past across regions, be it in Jaintia Hills or Khasi Hills.
“This incident in Garo Hills just adds to a long list of crimes and human tragedies arising out of an evil (illegal mining) that needs immediate eradication,” the BJP spokesperson said.
Demanding the harshest punishment for the perpetrators of this crime, the party appealed to the Chief Minister Conrad Sangma “to ensure that this time the administration goes beyond a few arrests".
“The entire case of illegal mining across sectors has to be investigated thoroughly, corrective actions initiated, unlawful activities permanently stopped and every individual involved brought to book,” the BJP leader demanded.
Earlier on January 10, three people were arrested and security was tightened in Goalgaon village under the Rajabala constituency in Meghalaya’s West Garo Hills district after a violent mob attack left an NGO member dead on the evening of January 9.
The victim was Dilseng M Sangma, a member of the A·chik Conscious Holistically Integrated Krima (ACHIK), a Garo civil society NGO.
According to official sources, Sangma was part of a group of around 10–12 ACHIK members who were present in Goalgoan on Friday evening when they were allegedly attacked by a mob. Another member of the NGO sustained serious injuries in the incident and is currently undergoing treatment.
The district administration also imposed a night curfew in the area to prevent further escalation and maintain law and order.