Shillong, April 29: The Meghalaya Tribal Teachers’ Association (MeTTA) has termed the deployment of huge contingent of armed police forces in NEHU as incursion into the precincts of the university without the law enforcement personnel consulting the university authority or even making an attempt to obtain permission for the entry.”
Metta said MeTTA received frantic and frightened calls from countless students who were intimidated by police presence who were reportedly moving in various parts of the campus combat-ready and who gave the impression that the police were in for the long haul, their trucks and vehicles being loaded with provisions.
“The presence of such a huge police presence in response to an alleged assault case is unprecedented and uncalled for and the consequence of this has caused distress and trepidation among the university community which includes students, teachers, support staff and the allied service providers,” Prof Kharmawphlang said while adding that the academic atmosphere of the campus was disturbed to such an extent that multiple academic and administrative work was shelved and abandoned.
Prof Kharmawphlang said the MeTTA condemned this blatant show of force which was brought to bear on an unsuspecting academic institution.
“Upon serious reflection MeTTA sees this as one of the machinations of individuals and parties with vested interest who are bent on vitiating the intellectual atmosphere of NEHU by remotely orchestrating divisive and diabolical agendas. Let these puppet handlers be warned that MeTTA will not tolerate such sinister plots and it is prepared to deal with such perpetrators swiftly and decisively,” he added.
He further stated that MeTTA, NEHU is committed to the well-being of all the university stakeholders, the sustenance of peaceful coexistence through respect and reciprocity, the adherence to the Act, statutes and ordinances of NEHU and and the pursuance of academic excellence.
“MeTTA is also committed to the continued welfare of the university stakeholders who are indigenous to the state of Meghalaya.”
MeTTA urged the adherence of established codes of conduct and protocols that guide the functional relationship between institutional and governmental authorities and of paramount importance is the recognition of autonomy which all universities enjoy.
Earlier, the NEHU students took out a protest rally and launched a signature campaign against the recent arrest of NEHUSU president Sandy Sohtun and the unprecedented deployment of armed police forces in the campus of the university.
“We stand against the illegal militarization of education institutions, especially when used to control or intimidate stakeholders”, “deployment of armed forces in universities under false pretenses undermines the safety and integrity of academic spaces” and “We stand firmly against the abuse of power by law enforcement in the form of illegal arrest” – were messages in the placards displayed by the students during the rally organized by the North Eastern Hill University Students’ Union (NEHUSU), which has also called for an indefinite suspension of classes.
