At least 31 government and private vehicles were damaged, 16 confirmed cases of assault were reported, and statues of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and Swami Vivekananda were vandalised during the Khasi Students’ Union’s black-flag bike rally in Shillong, East Khasi Hills Deputy Commissioner Abhilash Baranwal, IAS, said.
He said two vehicles — one government and one private — were also set on fire during the violence. The district administration has since stepped up security, with five additional companies of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF), including the Rapid Action Force (RAF), deployed alongside Meghalaya Police.
Baranwal said the administration was responding to inputs as the situation evolved and appealed to people not to view the incident as a deliberate attempt to go on a rampage.
“It was a three hour rally in which, as we were receiving inputs, we were trying to respond to the same. But as the situation continued to evolve, and it was a dynamic situation, there were incidents which could still happen,” the DC said.
He said around 200 police personnel were deployed along the rally route, but the route was extensive and there were several pockets where miscreants could take advantage of the situation,
“Maybe not enough deployment of security forces and whatever happened, that happened,” he added.
The Deputy Commissioner said police subsequently apprehended three senior KSU leaders during a late-night operation and also went to the organisation’s office at Jaiaw Pdeng. Following intervention by community members, the police personnel withdrew from the area.
Baranwal warned that the violence could have repercussions beyond Meghalaya, particularly for people from the State living and working outside it.
“We are already seeing that near Jorabat basically the Meghalaya vehicles are being stopped, one or two vehicles are being vandalised,” he said.
He said adding the Meghalaya Government and the district administration were taking up the matter strongly with their counterparts in Assam, adding that such incidents could have a wider impact on employment opportunities for Meghalaya’s youth outside the State.
“However, this repercussion will further deter youths of Meghalaya in pursuing employment opportunities outside the state,” Baranwal said.
The Deputy Commissioner warned as he appealed to residents to cooperate with the administration and police and report any untoward incident rather than taking the law into their own hands.
“We want to appeal to all the people of Shillong and East Khasi Hills that they cooperate with the DC Administration and Police Administration. They should be assured that we are committed to the safety and security, and if there is anything they must report to police so that timely action can be taken,”
He also appealed to people to refrain from rumour-mongering and cooperate with law-enforcement agencies.
He said an FIR had been registered and the investigation was underway. Police were also examining the role of individuals allegedly involved in vandalism and assault.
Responding to the KSU leadership’s claim that the violence may have been caused by unruly or anti-social elements who had joined the rally to divert the agitation, Baranwal said the claim would have to be assessed against the available evidence.
He said the violence involved a series of incidents rather than isolated occurrences, but maintained that the investigation would establish whether the violence was pre-planned, conspired or instigated, or whether unruly elements attempted to hijack the rally.
“Whether it was pre-planned, whether it was conspired, whether it was instigated, or whether it was actually some unruly and anti-social elements which tried to hijack it is something which will be borne out by investigation, and it will be for the judiciary to decide.”
On the late-night police operation at the KSU office in Jaiaw Pdeng, Baranwal said police had gone there to apprehend individuals suspected of involvement in assault and other offences. He said a petrol bomb was hurled at police personnel, following which the force responded with tear gas and one stun grenade.
“When a petrol bomb is hurled on them, the police has to respond. However, the response was absolutely proportionate,”Baranwal said.
He said there was no indiscriminate use of stun grenades or tear gas and that the police response was aimed at dispersing the crowd that was allegedly advancing towards the security personnel.
The administration has also stepped up night patrolling and community outreach measures to restore confidence and ensure safety in Shillong.
“We are committed to their safety and security. We have brought the required security personnel so as to ensure that further such incidents do not occur, and we are in the process of increasing the night patrolling.”
He appealed to all residents, including those who have come to Shillong for work and employment, to remain calm and avoid rumours.
“We want to assure them that we are committed to their safety and security. You must not indulge in rumour-mongering, and in case there is any strange incident which is reported across the city, please do reach out to us. Please do reach out to police. We will be responding,” the DC said.
Baranwal said more arrests could follow as police examine evidence and identify those allegedly involved in vandalism and assault.
“Whoever they find have been involved in these kind of activities, they are going to try and arrest them.”
On the possibility of imposing a curfew, the Deputy Commissioner said there was no immediate requirement for such a measure, citing the positive response from residents.
“I do not really feel that there is any need to impose curfew as of now, because the people have responded extremely positively.”
The administration also acknowledged that there could have been operational lapses while dealing with the rapidly evolving situation, but maintained that security forces had been deployed based on intelligence inputs received before the rally.
“I’m not here to defend everything that happened today from the part of Administration. I’m sure that there are learnings that we can draw and we will go back to our drawing board.”
He said the administration’s priority during such situations was to minimise damage to property and prevent injuries while avoiding further confrontation involving bystanders, shopkeepers, children and motorists.
On whether the violence pointed to an intelligence failure, Baranwal said it was too early to draw such a conclusion.
“We did receive some intelligence. That’s why security deployment was also there. Now whether that intelligence was sufficient, whether that was disseminated timely, whether that led to clear understanding of the threats and the dangers is something that we need to examine.”
Baranwal also said the district administration had made efforts to facilitate a meeting between the KSU and Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma before the rally, but the proposed meeting did not materialise.
