Meghalaya chief minister Conrad Sangma on February 1 assured that the government will take stern actions against perpetrators of the Khyndailad IED blast and against attempts to create fear amongst the citizens of the state.
“I can assure everyone that we will leave no stone unturned to ensure we get to all the people who are involved in this and will ensure that people trying to create fear are punished. Therefore, proper action will be taken,” Sangma told journalists.
With the HNLC claiming responsibility for planting the IED blast at Khyndailad on January 30 evening and threatening traders who defy the outfit’s diktat for paying tax, Sangma said: “I want to give the confidence to our business traders and people that we will take action and we will ensure that those people who are trying to create fear will be brought to justice.”
Expressing concern over a juvenile held in connection with the blast incident, the chief minister said: “Regarding the larger question of our youth being involved, yes, there have been instances where our young boys and girls sometimes do go into this line and we from the government side have always believed that in order to ensure that this does not take place, it is important for us to engage the youth in a proper manner.”
He emphasized the need to give opportunities to the youth so that they do not go in the wrong direction adding that is the reason why the MDA government is focusing largely on entrepreneurship and youth policy.
“I have mentioned in my speech on January 26 and January 21 that ensuring that proper opportunities are given to the youth is going to be one of the challenges in the coming decades for us and therefore, we are aware of it and we will ensure we address those issues,” he added.
The chief minister also admitted that it is a matter of great concern that the HNLC is recruiting minors and assured that steps are taken to ensure young people are not easily lured in the future.
He also informed that the police are on the job to investigate and ensure all those involved in this kind of activity are caught.
On the allegation of intelligence failure, Sangma however said: “It is absolutely not…one should not feel that the police are not doing its job. Police are very much doing their work…they have got a very strong intel and that is the reason why it did not take even 12 hours to actually nab the people who were responsible.”
He also reminded that in most cases the government had acted very toughly and most people have been caught while assuring that the government will ensure there should be peace in the city and the state as a whole.
On the other hand, the chief minister also hit back at the AITC for its allegations.
“I think the TMC or then Congress knows better than during their time what happened. I think they understand the law and order situation. Of course, they are trying to play politics with the overall situation which is unfortunate that they should play politics in this kind of situation, they should be constructively working with the government to find solutions to these issues,” he said.
