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Rifles snatched from police by youths recovered from stream in Shillong
Earlier, Meghalaya chief minister Conrad K Sangma had urged the youths to return the snatched rifles.
Three service INSAS rifles which were wrested from a police posse in Meghalaya on August 15 by a group of youths were recovered from a stream in the heart of the state capital on Monday afternoon by the personnel of the Meghalaya Fire and Emergency Services and district police, officials said.
Earlier, Meghalaya chief minister Conrad K Sangma had urged the youths to return the snatched rifles even as he promised to keep their identities secret, in other words, he offered absolute amnesty.
Elaborating on the retrieval, assistant inspector general of Police (AIG-A), Gabriel K Iangrai said that the three INSAS rifles which were stolen (police refuse to acknowledge they were snatched) from the personnel on August 15 have been retrieved from Umkhrah river by the Search and Rescue Team (SRT) of the Fire and Emergency Services and the East Khasi Hills district police.
On behalf of Meghalaya police, the AIG expressed its sincere gratitude to the Rangbah Shnongs (headman) of Mawlai Town Dorbar (village council) for their continuous support and to the youths who had come forward to inform the police through an anonymous letter released through the media.
On August 15, a police vehicle (black Scorpio) belonging to Mawkynroh outpost was set ablaze at Jaiaw. A group of youths accosted a police posse led by the in charge of the police outpost, wrenched the assault rifles from the police personnel and commandeered the vehicle for a ride before converting it into wrangled metal by setting it aflame at Jaiaw.
The incident was a mark of protest against the death of former Hynñiewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC), a proscribed militant out, founding general secretary Cherish Starfield Thangkhiew in his residence on August 13 morning in a ‘police encounter’
Soon after, the incident went viral online, chief minister Conrad K Sangma urged the youths to return the rifles. “All those who are involved are asked to immediately return the weapon,” Sangma had appealed through the media, while promising that the identity and names of those involved will be kept strictly confidential as the interest of the state was to retrieve the weapons.
“Since we are not very clear about the situation and the circumstances, we can’t assume that they (the miscreants) came with the intention of grabbing the weapons at this point of time. We are more concerned about the safety of the people,” Sangma stated.
Meanwhile, the four policemen have been suspended and an inquiry has been initiated against them for “deserting their weapons”.
