A court in Meghalaya's Shillong sent three senior leaders of the Khasi Students' Union, including its president Raymond Kharjana, vice-president Pynkmenlang Sanmiet and general secretary Reuben Najiar, to 14 days' judicial custody after they were arrested for their alleged role in the recent violence in the town and along the Meghalaya-Assam border.
Rueben Najiar, however, told reporters while being taken away that the KSU would not back down and would continue to press for its demands. He alleged that the government's decision to arrest the union's leaders was an attempt to suppress the ongoing movement.
Statues of Swami Vivekananda and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose were vandalised, and several vehicles were torched on Wednesday during a bike rally organised by the KSU. The union has been agitating for a five-point charter of demands, including implementation of the Meghalaya Residents Safety and Security Act, reforms in recruitment through the Meghalaya Public Service Commission and District Selection Committees (DSCs), and stricter regulation of migrant workers.
The state government, meanwhile, said on Thursday that at least 31 government and private vehicles were damaged, 16 confirmed cases of assault were reported, and two statues of Bose and Vivekananda were vandalised during the KSI's black-flag bike rally in Shillong.
East Khasi Hills Deputy Commissioner Abhilash Baranwal said two vehicles, one government and one private, were also set afire during the violence.
The district administration has since stepped up security, with five additional companies of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF), including the Rapid Action Force (RAF), deployed alongside Meghalaya Police. Baranwal said the administration was working to ensure there were no further incidents.
The district administration has also revoked the permission granted to the KSU for a sit-in protest after the conditions imposed for the bike rally were violated. The administration has warned that any gathering held thereafter would amount to an unlawful assembly.
However, former KSU president Lambokstarwell Marngar said the organisation would continue its agitation and press the government to implement its demands.
