Meghalaya NGOs suspend agitation

DGP Anil Pradhan should not be reinstated till judicial probe is over, Lapang told

Anil Pradhan Shillong, Aug. 5 : Non-governmental organisations in Meghalaya, which have been demanding the removal of director-general of police Anil Pradhan, suspended their agitation today, a day after he decided to go on leave. The NGOs, under the banner of Steering Committee Against Murder of Democracy, suspended their agitation on the condition that Pradhan should not be re-instated as DGP till the judicial inquiry into the May 31 Shillong jailbreak was completed, committee spokesman Samuel Jyrwa told reporters here today. “Pradhan can be appointed elsewhere, but not in police department till the completion of the judicial inquiry,” Jyrwa, who is also the president of the Khasi Students’ Union (KSU), said. The committee also wants the government to extend Pradhan’s leave if the inquiry commission is not able to complete the probe within 60 days. Pradhan had applied for 60 days’ leave on medical grounds last evening. After accepting his application, the state home department wrote to the Election Commission for approval of his leave in view of the Laitumkhrah byelection on August 18. It also sought the commission’s approval on its proposal to allow the next seniormost additional DGP, B. Kezo, to take additional charge of the duties of the DGP. Though the government claimed that Pradhan had decided to go on leave on his own, the home department had sent feelers to him to apply for leave to douse the current situation. Chief minister D.D. Lapang had on Saturday indicated that Pradhan may be asked to go on leave to find a solution to the demands of the NGOs. Lapang had also sought UDP leader John Kharshiing’s help to negotiate with civil society activists to call off their agitation after Pradhan applied for leave. The NGOs had called a road blockade and night “public curfew” in protest against the government’s apathy towards removing Pradhan who apparently released Thomas Nongtdu, a Congress politician, who allegedly funded the jailbreak. The road blockade, which began at 7pm last night, not only affected traffic flow but also witnessed stray incidents of violence in Shillong and theJaintia Hills district. Unidentified persons threw a petrol bomb and torched a vehicle belonging to the public health engineering department at Mawlai Mawroh in Shillong last night. This was the second instance of torching of a government vehicle during the agitation sponsored by the committee. On Saturday night, a vehicle belonging to the PWD was set on fire at Jaiaw Laitdom in Shillong. There were also reports of pelting of stones on vehicles in the Jaintia hills. The police said investigations were on to find out if members of the committee were involved in these cases. The committee, however, ruled out its involvement in the stray incidents of violence.