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Meghalaya Police plan action over letter related to ex-rebel’s killing
Meghalaya police accused media houses that reported about the letter of “irresponsible reporting of unverified information”. The police maintained Thangkhiew had a role in a blast in July and was planning another one in Shillong in August
The Meghalaya Police plan legal action over a letter written purportedly by three ex-policemen using pseudonyms to the brother of former rebel leader Cherish Starfield Thangkhiew, who was killed on August 13, for making “fabricated, scurrilous, and totally unverified allegations”, people aware of the matter said. The letter condemned the police action and alleged that the two Indian Police Service officers “went to kill” Thangkhiew without any evidence on the orders of police chief R Chandranathan and inspector general (law and order) Mukesh Kumar Singh.
“...it (the letter) is full of untruths and mischievous loopholes,” a person aware of the matter said on condition of anonymity.
The letter claimed there were pending cases against Chandranathan related to his tenure in Assam and blamed Singh for the alleged murder of the criminal.
Chandranathan said: “All I can say is one must first verify the facts before publishing anything...” He said he was awaiting a report on the letter.
In a press release on Monday, the police accused media houses that reported about the letter of “irresponsible reporting of unverified information”. The police maintained Thangkhiew had a role in a blast in July and was planning another one in Shillong in August.
Thangkhiew’s death sparked protests in Shillong with many accusing police of staging the shootout in which the former rebel leader was killed.
Police claimed when a police team went to Thangkhiew’s house on August 13 to interrogate him, he “attempted to assault and cause fatal injury to a member of the police team”. They insisted he died when the police team fired in self-defence.
