2 killed as communal clash over council polls explodes in Meghalaya; Army stages flag march, net suspended

GUWAHATI/SHILLONG: The Army was called out in Meghalaya's West Garo Hills Tuesday and mobile internet services were blocked after two people died in overnight violence involving the Garo community and supporters of non-tribal candidates seeking to contest the April 10 elections to the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council.

Both sides clashed amid a night curfew clamped by the administration to defuse tensions triggered by an official notification requiring candidates to produce valid ST certificates while filing nomination papers, marking a departure from the earlier practice that allowed non-tribal participation in the polls. CM Conrad Sangma's National People's Party (NPP) currently administers the council.


Former Phulbari legislator S G Esmatur Mominin, a Bengali-speaking Muslim, was allegedly assaulted Monday while arriving at the deputy commissioner's office in Tura to file his nomination. Mominin, accompanied by fellow aspirant Enamul Haque, was rescued by police and escorted to safety, sources said. The epicentre of the conflict triggered by the attack on Mominin was Chibinang, where mobs from the hilly areas and plains faced off through the night.

Arson was reported at several locations, including the district headquarters town of Tura, where vehicles were torched and stones pelted at buildings. "Fire and emergency services responded swiftly and brought the fires under control. No fatalities have been reported in the Tura area," an official said.

Initial reports suggested that police firing to control mobs running riot caused the two casualties, both of whose identities are still to be officially confirmed. The administration issued a denial. "The exact cause of death remains unknown at this stage. The unrest is understood to have arisen from protests by certain organisations, opposing the candidature of non-tribal individuals in the GHADC elections," the West Garo Hills administration said late Tuesday.