Meghalaya Home Minister James K Sangma says no to CBI probe

Meghalaya Home Minister James K Sangma says no to CBI probe

A Correspondent

Shillong: Meghalaya Home Minister James K Sangma on Tuesday categorically stated on the floor of the Assembly that the government was not going for a CBI probe as demanded by the opposition Congress into the assault on women rights and RTI activist Agnes Kharshiing and her colleague Amita Sangma on November 8 in East Jaintia Hills district.

Replying to a “short duration discussion” during the Special Session of the Meghalaya Assembly, Sangma said, “The government has decided to go for a fact finding independent inquiry. Therefore we don’t see the need for a probe by the CBI,” the Home Minister said.

Allaying fears of the opposition Congress that an independent inquiry set up by the state may lead to interference by the government, Sangma said that there will not be any kind of meddling into the probe. The Home Minister also pointed out that if the state government had to interfere it would not have set up an independent inquiry in the first place. It may be mentioned that on November 26, the state cabinet has decided to institute an independent inquiry into the genesis leading to the incident.

Earlier, taking part in the discussion, opposition leader, Dr Mukul Sangma said that there should be a CBI inquiry into the assault of the two women activists.

Dr Sangma told the House that officers are being pressured by the Government thereby creating an environment of lawlessness in the State and people are concerned about it.

“Prima facie…the Government of the day doesn’t want anybody to raise these issues,” he said about the reported illegal coal mining activities that are going on in the State.

He added that if officials are being victimized by their political bosses, it would set a “bad precedence for the State,” the leader of opposition said.

Countering the allegations of Dr Sangma that the present government was victimizing and pressuring the officials, the Home Minister said that such trend could have been prevalent during the Congress-ruled Governments of the past.

The Home Minister also pointed out that from the year 2004-2018 before the present government took over the state saw lawlessness, rampant extortion and there were killings of security forces as well as civilians.

Sangma also pointed out that during the past Congress government firing were ordered on innocent people at Tura on September 30, 2005 and the firing at villagers of Mookhep, East Jaintia Hills on September 24, 2014. “This is what I call lawlessness,” the Home Minister said.

Also Read: Meghalaya News

Top Headlines

No stories found.
Sentinel Assam
www.sentinelassam.com