Police of Meghalaya & Assam face-off in 'disputed' Langpih
Staff Correspondent
Shillong: Assam and Meghalaya police were involved in a face-off for a few hours at Umwahli village near Langpih (Lumpi) on Wednesday after the Meghalaya Police thwarted the attempt by the Assam Police to build a police outpost in the area. The area is considered disputed but as per land records, the land belongs to Kwiskela Lyngdoh (daughter of Kwostin Thongni) of Langpih and situated between West Khasi Hills district in Meghalaya and Kamrup district of Assam. Assam also claims that the land belongs to them.
According to well placed sources, an Assam Police team led by Additional Superintendent of Police Sanjib K Saikia reached the site at around 10.30 am to commence the construction. This infuriated the local population and a heated argument took place as evident from the video that has already gone viral.
The Magistrate and Sub Divisional Police Officer from Meghalaya intervened to ensure that there was no escalation of the situation. The Meghalaya Police was backed by a platoon of the SF-10 commandos to pre-empt any unwanted law-and-order situation.
The officials from both sides deliberated on the issue and subsequently the Assam side withdrew. Almost everybody agreed that the matter is best taken at the higher level.
Later in the evening, the Superintendent of Police (SP) Bashan Laloo rushed to the site and interacted with the locals and headman of the village. The SP confirmed to The Sentinel about the incident that nearly turned ugly. However, he iterated that the land of the Proposed BOP of Assam Police belongs to Kwiskelda, D/o Kwostin Thongni of Umwahli.
Laloo pacified the villagers and requested them not to resort to any form of violence. He reassured that the matter has been taken up at different levels of both the Meghalaya and Assam governments.
However, the locals of Umwahli in particular complained about the erratic behaviour of the senior officer of the Assam Police,
Till filing of this report, no untoward incident has been reported. The SP of west Khasi Hills district further said to avoid any escalation of the situation, a minimal skeletal force presence has been kept at Umwahli village as part of confidence building measure.