Shillong(Meghalaya), Sept 9 : Dr. Mukul Sangma, Trinamool Congress Legislature Party Leader and Leader of Opposition, Meghalaya Legislative Assembly while addressing media here said: Why wasn’t the Chesterfield Thankiew report made available to the public before?
He said , based on the circumstances which led to the unfortunate incident, the report has led to the Commission of Inquiry. It is incumbent upon the government to take all necessary actions. However, in this case, justice has been denied. Consequently, itcreates a situation where there is a lack of trust in the government and the authority and added that the report is indicative of how there is culpable and thoughtless use of force.
Sangma added ,’ Meghalaya police has stood the test of time. They have faced bigger challenges in restoring peace over the mushrooming militant organisations in the state. There have been innumerable raids over the years. I have no reason to believe it was because of incompetence on part of the police’.
Sangma said once a piece of information is received from intelligence agencies, the whole operation is done such a way that there is minimal collateral damage, minimal loss of families in the neighbourhood and that of police personnel. The usual procedure is to cordon off the area. However, the report suggests that in this case, the whole house was already surrounded by several people.
”The procedure which is usually followed across the state is that the Police wait for dawn so that the visibility permits minimal damage. So, shouldn’t they havewaited for one or two hours more? Why was the SoP (standard operating procedure) not followed, questioned Sangma .
“We must also look at the legal perspective. I am putting this question to the government, as people also should, was there a criminal conspiracy? This issomething that the Government must answer,”he said .
Dr Mukul was of the opinion that all laws of the land should be looked into to rule out this case as a criminalconspiracy. The government has to do that to win back the confidence of the state and its people.
He said If there was an input available that he was in his own residence with his children and his wife, do you expect that the Meghalaya police would not be aware if he was accompanied by his cadre? Given the circumstances, I am asking the people of the state to raise the question whether there was a criminal conspiracy in Chesterfield Thankiew case. There has to be an independent enquiry into it.
He said and urged that tThe Police have been trained and have dealt with similar cases in the past. Thus, I want to know from the government what exactly led to the unfortunate death?
” It is the trust of people in the system which sustains our democracy. The government needs to instill confidence in me, you and the people. If there was a predetermined ill motive, the question persists whether it was a criminal conspiracy?”, the former CM said .
He was of the opinion that certain portions of the report have been erased. Since this is pertaining to anincident involving alleged killing, therefore certain names have not been revealed,though it would reflect in the confidence to the government. Certain names mayhave certain ramifications in the judicial interventions. Overall, the course of the case can be influenced, which is why the names are withheld. Whether they wanted to arrest him or kill him: the question lies therein
If they wanted to arrest him, they would have enriched themselves with information crucial to investigations. In the matter of pursuing any instance of the crime, the inputs are of paramount importance. The sources of inputs, evidences have been destroyed. Killing a man who could potentially give you information is counterproductive. This information is crucial for the security of the state.
Dr Mukul stated that there are multiple agencies like NIA and CBI that can perform an independent enquiry but the government has started acting as an accused. If you are after the accused then,why would you say no to what we are demanding?
