16 taken into custody in Meghalaya over Kuki-Meitei brawl

East Khasi Hills SP Sylvester Nongtnger said two groups of students belonging to Kuki and Meitei communities from Manipur brawled on Thursday

SHILLONG: Sixteen people were arrested in connection with a clash between two groups of students in state capital Shillong’s Nongrim Hills on Thursday evening, the Meghalaya police said.

East Khasi Hills SP Sylvester Nongtnger said police received information about the clash between two groups of students on Thursday evening at about 5:30pm (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

East Khasi Hills SP Sylvester Nongtnger said two groups of students belonging to Kuki and Meitei communities from Manipur brawled on Thursday. At about 5:30pm, Laitumkhrah police station received information about a clash near Mizo Morden school, he said.

The officer said 16 people were taken into custody and issued a warning not to vitiate peace in the state capital. The students also had to give an undertaking under section 107 of the Code of Criminal Procedure to maintain peace.

The district police chief appealed to people to maintain peace and ensure that the ethnic violence in Manipur does not spill over into Meghalaya. Mobs torched houses, shops and religious places in Manipur over the last few days, leading the state government to order district and executive magistrates to issue shoot-at-sight orders in extreme cases after all forms of persuasion, warning, reasonable force etc. have been exhausted.