Meghalaya: Two killed in West Garo Hills amid tensions over tribal council polls

Two persons were killed in suspected police firing in Meghalaya’s West Garo Hills district on Tuesday amid tensions surrounding the nomination process of the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council election.

The firing took place in the Chibinang area after a clash broke out between tribal and non-tribal groups in connection with the election, West Garo Hills Superintendent of Police Abraham T Sangma was quoted as saying by PTI.

Both of those killed were non-tribal residents, West Garo Hills Deputy Commissioner Vibhor Aggarwal told Scroll.

Following the violence, a curfew has been imposed in the entire district, Aggarwal said. The Army has also been deployed.

The killing came hours after the administration on Tuesday suspended mobile internet services in the district for 48 hours.

Tensions had been simmering in the West Garo Hills between tribal and non-tribal communities after a Garo man died in January after being attacked by unidentified assailants. The man was a member of ACHIK, a non-governmental organisation that had visited an allegedly illegal stone quarry in the Rajabala area to “inspect” activities there.

Ethnic faultline also widened after the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council issued a notification barring non-tribal persons from contesting the election to the council scheduled on April 10.

The notification makes it mandatory for all candidates to possess a Scheduled Tribe certificate. Leaders of...

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