Pressure groups halt voters' enrollment process

From A Correspondent
Shillong, April 20: The KSU and the FKJGP today disrupted enrollment of voters by the office of the SDO, Sohra even as they demanded the removal of Sohra SDO Ghanshyam Dass.
 The KSU and the FKJGP alleged that Dass went against the orders of his superiors by holding the verification of voters in his office.
It may be reminded that this is the second occasion that the two pressure groups went to the SDO, Sohra office to halt the enrollment process.
Two weeks back the KSU and FKJGP met Dass who made it clear that since enrollment of voters is the matter of the Election Commission, the state government cannot interfere with the process.  
On Monday, members of the two pressure groups did not meet the SDO but forcibly stopped the enrollment process.
According to local residents of Sohra, those who come to the SDO office are mostly Bangladeshis from Majai and Shella along the India-Bangladesh border.
Speaking to reporters, J Marbaniang, KSU environment secretary, said that the KSU and the FKJGP had to again go to the office since the SDO did not respect the sentiments expressed by the two pressure groups during their last meeting on April 9.
Marbaniang also said that pressure groups had met the state government representatives on the issue but the SDO did not respect the orders of the government.
Marbaniang also alleged that Dass did not corroborate the documents of the non-indigenous people who came to get themselves enrolled. “He verified them on his own and within days these people got their EPICs,” he said.
Meanwhile, FKJGP, East Khasi Hills unit president Elton Cliff Warjri said that East Khasi Hills Deputy Commissioner Sanjay Goyal had informed that verification of new voters will be held at various locations in the blocks and rural areas in the various assembly constituencies in the district as done in the past.