Curfew relaxed in Garo Hills; GHADC elections postponed

The total curfew imposed in Meghalaya’s East and West Garo Hills districts was relaxed on Thursday to allow people to procure essential items, officials said. The curfew in East Garo Hills was relaxed for five hours from 8 am to 1 pm, while in West Garo Hills, it was relaxed for two hours from 2 pm to 4 pm. The district administrations said the relaxation was allowed to enable residents to procure essential commodities.

The curfew was imposed in the two districts under Section 163 of the BNSS after violence erupted in West Garo Hills during protests linked to the elections to the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC), with demonstrators opposing the participation of non-Garo communities in the filing of nominations for the polls. Two people were killed and several others injured when police opened fire to disperse a mob during clashes in the Chibinang area on Tuesday, officials said.

The unrest has led to incidents of arson and damage to property in parts of the Garo Hills region, prompting authorities to deploy additional security forces, including five columns of the Army - three in Tura town and two in Chibinang — to restore order.

The chief minister visited Tura on Thursday, during which he reviewed the security situation and held meetings with the West Garo Hills deputy commissioner, as well as senior officers of the Army and the Rapid Action Force (RAF).

Sangma also interacted with local residents and visited several sites damaged during the violence, including burnt shops, destroyed roadside market sheds, and the office of the National People’s Party (NPP), which was partially damaged due to arson.

In a video statement, the chief minister described the vandalism and arson targeting the party office as unfortunate and assured people that those responsible would face strict action under the law. He said the party would rebuild the damaged office and would continue to strengthen its organisation, asserting that the NPP “lives in the hearts of the people” and cannot be weakened by such attacks.

In the wake of the violence, Sangma on Wednesday announced the postponement of the GHADC elections that were scheduled to be held on April 10.

The State Government has also suspended mobile internet services across five districts of the Garo Hills region as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of rumours and maintain law and order, officials added.