Tura, May 27: Leaders of Four organisations ADE, AYWO, FAF and FKJGP have dispatched a letter to home minister of Meghalaya Lahkmen Rymbui urging him to change the West Garo Hills SP V S Rathore for detaining them on Thursday in Tura police station.

FKJGP President Pritam Marak, ADE President Dalseng Bira Ch Momin, AYWO president Sengbat Marak and FAF president Brinbal Sangma accused the SP of directing his officers to detain them in the station for the night on Thursday for checking and seizing Bidi tobbaco products from nearby Rongram market.

The leaders of the four groups claimed that they conducted the inspection and seized the bidis because the traders were selling them without MRP prices printed on the packets and escaping paying taxes to the government.

They alleged that the police chief was aggressive in his nature over the situation and it was only by the intervention of womens groups and their organisation members that they were not detained for the night.

But the Tura police has given a completely different version to the organizations claims.

Police have reiterated that the four organizations are not the authority to conduct raids and seize property which is the work of government departments.

“They confiscated the goods and even issued seizure lists which have all been seized by us because they cannot take the law into their own hands” says police and have registered cases against the leaders and other members involved in the raids.