Authorities in Meghalaya’s East Khasi Hills district eased curfew on Monday in view of school exams and relative peace after communal clashes had claimed three lives since February 28.
The curfew was reimposed for 12 hours from 6 p.m. due to a perceived threat to peace and tranquillity, District Magistrate M. War Nongbri said. Mobile Internet service in East Khasi Hills and five other districts remained suspended.
This followed an ultimatum issued by the extremist Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) to all Bengali Hindus to leave the Ichamati and Majai areas of the district within one month.
Meghalaya violence: Man stabbed, shops set ablaze
Ichamati, close to India’s border with Bangladesh, was where a Khasi Students’ Union member was killed in a clash between the Khasi tribal and non-tribal people over opposition to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the implementation of inner-line permit for restricting the entry of outsiders into the State.
In a statement, HNLC general secretary Sainkumar Nongtraw warned of “mass bloodshed” if the Bengali Hindus failed to heed the group’s ultimatum.
The HNLC also alleged a “Hindutva connection” in the hostility shown by the Hindu Bengalis and likened the clashes in Meghalaya to those between anti-CAA and pro-CAA groups in Delhi.
On Monday, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma, Home Minister Lahkmen Rymbui, Health Minister A.L. Hek and General Administration Department Minister Comingone Ymbon visited the Shillong Civil Hospital to meet the people injured in the violence.
“All precautionary measures are in place to bring the law and order situation under control,” Mr. Sangma said, adding the government would take care of the medical expenses of the victims. “We appeal to all stakeholders and individuals to refrain from any kind of violence so that peace and normalcy can return,” he added.
