Civil society groups calls for independent inquiry into killing of ex-HNLC militant

Civil society groups calls for independent inquiry into killing of ex-HNLC militant

Shillong, Aug 13: The Civil Society Women Organization (CSWO) had demanded a “sincere expert independent inquiry” into the killing of Cheristerfield Thangkhiew.

While condemning the IED blast in Laitumkhrah the CSWO said that if Thangkhiew is involved, then the police should have arrested him to find out the people behind this terror in the city.

“Killing of Cheristerfield Thangkhiew, puts lots of doubt that the police are hiding evidences to cover up the people behind the blast,” CSWO president Agnes Kharshiing said.

The CSWO said that Thangkhiew being a surrendered cadre he should have been issued notice if involved in any case and if he does not comply then the police can make arrests accordingly.

“Powers of investigation must be exercised in strict accordance with constitutional guarantees and legal provisions and cannot abuse their power given by the Government,” the organisation said.

It also said that the picking up of the two sons of Thangkhiew is questionable and is a clear violation of human rights.

The Meghalaya Peoples’ Human Rights Council (MPHRC) has called for a free, fair and impartial investigation into the incident.

“While extra-judicial or encounter killings have been a contested and contentious police procedure for decades we see that the steps taken by the joint police team in this case is unjustified and a deliberate attempt to infringe and crush the Supreme Court and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Guidelines” said MPHRC.

“We strongly call for a legal standard procedure for a thorough, effective and independent investigation since the right to life and equality before law are the basic human rights recognized and granted by the Constitution of India” MPHRC concluded.

The Thma U Rangli-Juki (TUR) has also condemned the killing of the ex-HNLC general secretary even as it has demanded an independent probe headed by a High Court judge into the incident.