Shillong Mar 11: The Dorbar Shnong Madanrting along with the Seng Samla Shnong and three other organizations, HNYF, KSU and FKJGP Madanrting on Wednesday questioned the failure of headmen and office bearers of villages within Syntung area in preventing the mob from lynching the youths at Lad Mawlang under Mawkynrew Block.

They also urged those involved in the lynching incident to come forward and surrender by themselves before the police.

One youth, Macmilan Kharshandi was killed, and two other seriously injured while another six youths all from Madanrting escaped the mob attacks on Sunday at Lad Mawlang accusing them to be menshohnoh.

This happened when they returned from the tourist spot at Syntung village, and after they mistakenly took the road that led them to another village instead of taking the road to Shillong.

Headman of Madanrting, E Kharkongor while strongly condemning the incident, said that the mob took the law into their own hands because of the failure of the headmen and office bearers of various Dorbar Shnongs in the area to prevent the incident.

“The headmen leading various Dorbar Shnongs must know that no one is allowed to take the law into one’s own hands whatever the case may be. The death of Macmillan has really pained all the residents of Madanrting and it was a big loss to the family as he has been the bread earner who supported his parents by supplying water everyday to various households,” Kharkongor said.

Kharkongor also urged all those involved in the incident to surrender by themselves and accept their own mistakes, instead of waiting for police to arrest them.

HNYF leader, Donbok Dkhar, while condemning the mob lynching, demanded from the Syiem of Hima Khyrim to remove all headmen of the nearby areas who have failed to perform their duty as administrator of their respective village especially for not standing together as village heads to stop the mob from taking the law into their own hands.

He also demanded the arrest of Sordar of Syntung as he was also alleged of involving in the incident.

Earlier one of the youths, Alfready Sohtun, who escaped by hiding in a nearby jungle, claimed that the Sordar of Syntung was also involved in beating and slapping him and his other friend at Syntung after they came out of the jungle on Monday morning.

“They also threatened to tie us, but fortunately the police came to the village and took us,” he alleged.

Seng Samla Shnong Madanrting president, Roderick Rajee said that the police through its cyber crime should also nab all the villagers including those responsible for taking video of the youths injured in the brutal attacks and circulating the video clip on social media.

On the allegation that the one of the youths had driven the jeep rashly that also hit some of the persons in the area, Banteilang Kharumnuid, another youth who also escaped the attacks and went into hiding, said that it was a fact that he had asked another friend to drive the jeep just to escape the mob, but perhaps, the jeep must have hit somebody in such a panic situation due to fear of the blood-thirsty mob.

On the claims of the Dorbar Shnong Syntung that the Sordar and other members of the Dorbar had tried to protect the three youths from being attacked mercilessly by the mob, Kharumnuid said, “We did not know whether they had really tried to protect Macmilan and other two friends because we fled away from the mob who had surrounded the jeep to thrash all of us. We ran away out of fear because people in large numbers were carrying sticks and rods wanting to kill us. Had the people of the area tried to protect us, the incident would not happened in such way, and our friend (Mac) would have survived.”

The two elderly women, Wanri Nongrum and Bibiona Kharumnuid from Madanrting who had accompanied Macmilan’s mother on Sunday night to the place where the incident had occurred, said that the mob also wanted to kill them and to set on fire the vehicle they were travelling in, had police men were not there.

They however said that there were also sensible persons at Pashang village who tried to calm down the situation, but the mob refused to listen.

“The mob screamed at us and spoke among them that the women menshohnoh have arrived, let’s kill them too,” the two women narrated.