Shillong: Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma emphasized the importance of following due process in implementing the joint decision made by Assam and Meghalaya regarding the investigation into the Mukroh firing incident.
Addressing the press on Thursday, CM Sangma highlighted that the procedure entails the formal signing of the minutes from the border talks conducted at the chief minister level on September 30 by both states.
“Hence, that process also requires time because words, even one comma can change the meaning of the minutes and hence it has to be done very much in detail. That process has been done now. Both the chief ministers have signed the minutes of the meeting,” he said.
“Now the official process of communicating (decision to handover the investigation to CBI) to the necessary different commissions and the Government of India will be taken up,” he said.
The chief minister said the meeting had also decided to withdraw forces from different areas.
“There are also other aspects where we will see the withdrawal of forces (by the) state governments in different areas at a substantial level I should say I don’t want to go into details especially in sensitive locations, which again we will see the tension will go down substantially,” he added.
Further, Sangma informed that he is also in touch with the Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for deciding on the joint visit to the Block I, Khanduli-Psiar area. According to him, the delay was due to some elections.
“When the elections are over, we expect that we should be visiting Khanduli-Psiar and Block I in one particular location but we are yet to decide on the location,” he said.
The Mukroh firing incident took place on n November 22, 2022, when the Assam Forest Protection Force fired on Mukroh village, killing six people and injuring two. The victims included five Meghalaya residents and a forest guard from Assam.
The firing incident took place in Mukroh village, which both Assam and Meghalaya claim as their own. The border dispute between the two states dates back to January 21, 1972, when the Assam Reorganisation Act, 1971, separated Meghalaya from Assam.
