Shillong, Sep 19: The Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) on Monday asked the state government to stop the alleged atrocities by the Assam police and people from the Karbi community against local villagers residing in the 36 Pnar villages under Block-I in West Jaintia Hills.
Addressing the media, president of the KSU West Jaintia Hills Laitphar Syngkrem said, “We strongly condemn the Karbi people for intimidating our people every now and then. We, therefore, want to send a clear message to the Karbi people to refrain from such activities because if they continue further, the KSU will also do the same thing to their people staying in the state.”
Syngkrem said the intimidation started after people from the villages in Block-I came to attend a meeting called by the Union in Barato recently. The Karbi people had threatened to kidnap one of the headmen for attending the meeting, he informed.
General Secretary Leningrad Tariang said the Pnars have to pay various illegal taxes to the Assam police. “They are being taxed for cutting grasses for making a hut, building houses, agricultural produce and even going to the market,” he said.
According to him, the intimidation is more from the Karbis because they want to encroach on the 36 villages in view of their demand for a separate state.
“Therefore, we urged the state government to immediately intervene and address the problems faced by the Pnar people,” Tariang said, adding that the police department should deploy forces for patrolling in these villages.
He also asked the government to set up police outposts at Moolber and Iooksi as the people of the 36 villages want to be in Meghalaya. “We also urged the government to speed up the second phase of border talks,” he added.
