Shillong, Aug 13: The sons of surrendered militant Cherishterfield Thangkhiew, who was killed in an early morning police encounter on Friday at his house in Mawlai Kynton Massar in Shillong, have rejected the police version of the incident saying it was a fake encounter.
Thangkhiew’s two sons – Grainy FG Diengdoh and Olifin G Diengdoh were in the same room during the raid. With a swollen lip and a bruised body, Grainy FG Diengdoh said that this was a fake encounter.
Narrating the incident, Diengdoh said that around 3 am, the police forcefully broke into their house, and the next thing he heard was a gun shot.
“After they barged in without knocking, they threw me and my brother down on the ground, kicked and beat us and had covered our faces with blanket. The only next thing I saw was my father lying dead on the ground and I think he was still breathing. His body was lying on the ground for almost an hour after he was shot. They did not rush him to the hospital at all,” said Diengdoh.
Asked if there was any knife and if they had retaliated, Diengdoh said that he did not see any knife around. “We don’t put a knife in the bedroom and it would be in the kitchen which was on the ground floor. They did not ask any questions when they barged in. I did not shout out for help also since it just happened so quickly and I saw that they were in police uniform so I did not retaliate and kept quiet,” Diengdoh said.
According to the son, the police had confiscated their phones. The police did not ask them any questions during the raid.
“They just kept searching the house and kept us there in the room for two or three hours and later they took us in the car. All they had asked was our names so we had informed them that we were both the sons and they did not believe us and thought that we were his security,” stated Diengdoh.
Both the brothers were then taken to Sadar police station and later were headed to Khliehriat when the East Jaintia Hills police came.
Diengdoh said they never reached Khliehriat. Halfway through they made a u-turn and returned to Shillong after realising they were both the sons and not Thangkhiew’s associates.
Diengdoh has also questioned the timing of the raid and said that they could have arrested his father during the day since his father was always at home.
Shocked with what has happened, Diengdoh has demanded for an independent inquiry because he believes this was a fake encounter.
“Even if he was involved in the blasts they could have arrested him during the day but it is shocking that they chose to raid at night,” said Diengdoh.
