Two days after the assault incident at Lawsohtun in Shillong in which 6 youths were seriously injured, the Dorbar Shnong Lawsohtun issued a clarification Sunday.
Till Saturday, Meghalaya Police picked up 11 persons on charges of being involved in the assault case.
The clarification has been issued by Lurshai Shylla, Rangbah Shnong, Dorbar Shnong Lawsohtun.
In the clarification, Shylla said the incident occurred at the basketball court in Lawsohtun Block-6 on July 3, 2020 where “a group of boys were attacked by masked miscreants”.
The Dorbar Shnong while condemning the “unfortunate” incident termed it as “barbaric”.
Volunteers have been engaged to ensure safety and security in the village and also to prevent any similar occurrence of law and order problems in the village, the Dorbar Shnong said.
The Dorbar Shnong said it made a public announcement regarding suspension of any form of physical activity relating to sports in its playground as per prohibitory order from the office of East Khasi Hills deputy commissioner in view of COVID19 pandemic.
But “on request it was recently open for the general public strictly in adherence to safe social distancing norms”, the Dorbar Shnong clarified.
Referring to a facebook post of columnist Patricia Mukhim, the Dorbar Shnong said it is “fully aware of the seriousness of the issues and is working co-coordinately with various NGOs to prevent such unpleasant event that has hurt the sentiments of all”.
“These incidents are unprecedented,” the Dorbar Shnong said adding that “it would have taken strong action if it had prior information and would have prevented and handed over the accused to the law”.
The Dorbar Shnong said it has been working hand in hand with various government functionaries especially with the police department in bringing about peace and harmony in the village in dealing with criminal elements in its jurisdiction.
As per community interest is concerned, “Lawsohtun is a homely place for all communities”, it claimed.
Some of the communities at Lawsohtun have been living harmoniously and owning their lands since the British era and celebrating Christmas & New Year together with the indigenous folks and speaking the same language as well, the Dorbar Shnong said.
The Dorbar Shnong said the communities living in Lawsohtun have “no reason to fear for their life”.
The Dorbar Shnong said it is in “total disagreement” to the statement by the columnist with regard to the function of police department.
The members of the Dorbar Shnong have been working untiringly with government and police force, exchanging information from time to time, conducting meetings relating to drug abuse, cyber crime, frauds, theft and dacoity issues to curb anti-social elements, murderous/ criminal elements as well, it said.
The Dorbar Shnong said it is “indebted” to the police department “which is always on their toes at any point of time on the call of duty”.
The Dorbar Shnong clarified that the incident that took place at the basketball ground at Block-6 is a “clash between two groups and not to be misunderstood as racial”.
“As of now, the attackers have not yet been identified and investigation by the police is still on,” the Dorbar Shnong asserted.
The Dorbar Shnong said it will file an FIR against the columnist for her statement, which according to it is “derogatory”.