SHILLONG: Regarding the incident of government vehicles being set on fire across the city, Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma stated that he has not yet received any report on the matter, while also pointing out that it is not an incident that significantly affects the peace and law and order situation in the State.
Speaking to media persons, the Chief Minister said that detailed information on these incidents has not been obtained yet because on the previous day, he was participating in a program and had traveled to Wahiajer.
He shared that he has not yet had the time to sit down with his team and has not received the report on the incident, but he confirmed that such an incident might have occurred and he will investigate thoroughly and discuss the matter properly.
The Chief Minister expressed that he does not see any impact on the peace and tranquility of the State as it could be just an isolated issue occurring in a few specific places, adding that he will look into this matter closely.
It may be mentioned here that in the early hours of June 6, government vehicles were set on fire by miscreants in three different localities of Shillong city. According to the clarification from the Superintendent of Police (SP) of East Khasi Hills, Vivek Syiem, the first incident took place at around 3:00 AM in front of the Kench’s Trace Police Beat House, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Laban Police Station.
In this incident, the miscreants used petrol to set fire to a police vehicle, a Mahindra Thar (old model) bearing registration number ML02 5516. Although the police personnel present at the Beat House managed to extinguish the fire quickly, the vehicle was damaged in its seat portions, which were burnt in the arson.
At around the same time, another vehicle arson occurred near Synod College in Lumdiengjri. A Toyota Innova belonging to the Health Department, bearing registration number ML05W3399, which was parked on the roadside, was set on fire and completely destroyed in the incident.
Meanwhile, another vehicle that was set on fire was a Maruti Suzuki SX4 bearing registration number ML05 F6060, belonging to the North Eastern Electric Power Corporation Limited (NEEPCO) company. That vehicle, which was parked on the roadside at Mawlai Phudmuri, was also set on fire, causing extensive damage to its interior parts, although no video footage was obtained for this particular incident in Mawlai.
Regarding these criminal acts, an investigation team from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) arrived to assist the police in collecting the necessary clues and evidence. The police have registered cases against these criminal acts at various police stations to conduct a thorough investigation and to track down and arrest all those involved in these illegal activities.
