Compensate Rs 3 lacs to victims of dacoity

From Our Correspondent

TURA, FEB 2: The National Peoples’ Party (NPP) on Thursday demanded immediate compensation of Rs. 3 lakh for the victims, who were attacked by a dacoit gang in Garobadha area of West Garo hills.

Five people were allegedly attacked on January 24.

An NPP statement said that police failed to register an FIR against the perpetrators and arrived at the spot late, even as locals had informed the nearby police station. The station was barely 200 meters from the incident spot.

“Meghalaya government has failed in its duty and obligation to provide security to its citizens, we demand that immediate compensation be paid to the family of Tapan Das to meet the expenses being incurred on the medical treatment”, said James Sangma, spokesperson of NPP and Dadenggre MLA.

Sangma along with party functionaries had visited the victims and the locals at Garobadha to take stock of the situation on January 29.

“The victims were attacked with sharp weapons resulting in grievous injuries. We met the villagers who informed us about the sequence of events and the subsequent lack of response from the police, local MLA and the health department”, the NPP leader alleged.

Tapan Das injured in the incident is undergoing treatment in Guwahati hospital and his condition is said to be critical.

“We are shocked to learn that when the miscreants armed with sharp weapons attacked the house of Tapan Das which is incidentally only about 200 meters away from the Garobadha Police Station, it took 1½ (One and a half) hours for the police personnel to reach the place of incidence”, said Sangma, who was agitated for the delay in response by concerned authorities.

He said that when police reached the house of Das, the attackers had already made their escape after mercilessly beating up the entire family and taking away all their valuables.

“We were informed that despite repeated calls for an ambulance to take the injured persons who were bleeding profusely, the 108 Ambulance arrived only after 2 hours”, he added.

Condemning the incident, NPP leader termed the act as “lawlessness”.

He said that there are many such cases of lawlessness along the bordering areas with Assam.

“The National People’s Party is deeply disturbed by the frequency of such incidences of dacoity in areas close to the Assam Border. The NPP condemns such acts of lawlessness”, a party release stated.

The NPP has demanded for immediate upgradation of the Garobadha police station from an Investigation Centre to a full-fledged police station with adequate personnel.

“This should have been done a long time ago keeping in mind the growth of Garobadha village from a small hamlet to a bustling market with a very big population comprising of a very diverse populace”, said the NPP leader.

They also requested the Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited and the Power Department to change the timings of the load shedding which was also a key factor in the attacks. “The miscreants timed their attack exactly after 12 midnight while load shedding was going on, giving the benefit of cover of darkness to the miscreants to carry out their attack”, the release stated.

They also condemned the lack of seriousness on the part of the state government in ensuring the safety of the citizens of Meghalaya. “Incidences of kidnappings, sexual assault against women and minors in particular, killings and similar crimes are the highest in the history of Meghalaya. The sad part is that the government is neither taking moral responsibility for its failure nor acting upon it”, the NPP leader stated.