SHILLONG:
The Hynniewtrep Youth Council (HYC), on May 27, demanded that the inquiry report into the death of former Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) leader Cheristerfield Thangkhiew, which was submitted to the chief minister on May 20 by retired Justice T Vaiphei, be furnished to the deceased’s family members.
“We demand that the report should be furnished to the family members of the deceased and all the procedures should be completed at the earliest,” said HYC president Robertjune Kharjahrin in a letter to Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma.
The Council also demanded that the report be made public and bring all the “culprits” involved in the “fake encounter” to book.
“We believe that the enquiry commission has named the culprit(s) involved in the murder of the deceased person and has also fixed responsibility on all the persons involved in the commission of the crime. So, they should immediately be arrested and/or prosecuted under the relevant provisions of the law of the land and in case they are public servants (police personnel) they should immediately be suspended,” the letter wrote
Kharjahrin also warned that failure to act on the demand, “will leave them with no other option but to resort to protest against the government”.
HYC’s demand comes on the heels of Federation of Khasi Jaintia and Garo People (FKJGP), which on May 22, made a similar demand urging the government to make the reports public.
Earlier on May 20, Retired Justice Vaiphei, who headed the one-man judicial inquiry commission into the death of the former HNLC leader, submitted the probe report to the government. Speaking to the press after the submission, Justice Vaiphei had said that the he was appointed to probe the killing in August and it took him more than six months to complete the report.
“As far as I am concerned, I have done my level best to finish the report and has done it to the best of my abilities. No stone was left unturned to make the best possible report. Now, the ball is in the court of the government,” he had said.