SHILLONG: The East Khasi Hills District Police, under the leadership of Superintendent of Police (SP) Vivek Syiem, has initiated a thorough investigation into the recent vandalism of a white Bolero SUV belonging to Pastor MacDonald Pyngrope at Wahingdoh.
The police are currently probing whether the incident was an attempted theft or an act of vendetta fueled by ulterior motives directed against the Pastor.
Speaking on the matter, SP Vivek Syiem informed that the police received information on Sunday evening at around 9:30 PM regarding the incident.
Miscreants had smashed the rear glass of the vehicle, which was parked along the roadside.
Following the act of vandalism, the Pastor lodged an First Information Report (FIR) at the Lumdiengjri Police Station. The complaint was initially treated as a Zero FIR and subsequently transferred to the Sadar Police Station, where it has been registered as a non-cognizable case.
The matter will now be forwarded to the court to obtain the necessary directives to conduct a full-fledged investigation.
Since the belongings and valuables kept inside the vehicle remained intact and were not stolen, the police are actively investigating the possibility of other hidden motives behind this targeted attack.
It is worth noting that Pastor MacDonald Pyngrope is the same individual who had previously filed an FIR alleging financial corruption and misappropriation of funds within the Church.
Commenting on the multi-crore embezzlement case, the SP stated that the police have already submitted a chargesheet in the first case after finding that funds amounting to ₹3 crore went missing.
Following this, the Pastor filed an additional FIR alleging the misappropriation and misuse of another ₹4 crore.
The police department took up the matter with the court, which has directed the police to continue the ongoing investigation under the same case.
The court further instructed that if any new evidence or developments surface during the course of the inquiry, they will be incorporated into the current investigation.
Pynter Assault Case
Meanwhile, providing an update on the ongoing Pynter village case, East Khasi Hills SP, Vivek Syiem clarified that following the exhumation of the body of late Trophimos Khongmawloh and the subsequent on-spot post-mortem examination, the police are still awaiting the final post-mortem and forensic reports.
The SP emphasized that no definitive conclusions can be drawn at this juncture.
He stated that a clear picture will emerge only after the department receives the official post-mortem report, which will establish whether the death was caused by the alleged assault by Village Defence Party (VDP) members or due to other factors.
