Tura, May 28: The authorities of GHADC have filed a police FIR in Tura against the leaders of the striking employees belonging to the Non-Gazetted Employees Association for the incidents that took place on Thursday afternoon in which the protestors allegedly tried to attack officials and even pelted stones leading to unruly scenes outside the district council premises.

After the convoy of the Chief Executive Member Benedic R Marak himself was temporarily blocked by protestors while leaving office and subsequently an accounts officer was targeted by the mob who allegedly tried to drag him out of his car, the authorities decided to take legal recourse and filed a police complaint at the Tura police station.

In the FIR lodged by the Principal Secretary of GHADC, Mr. H A Sangma, it mentions that the present Executive committee of the GHADC had time and again tried to resolve the issue and negotiate with the agitating staff and even came up with a temporary solution of providing five months salary due to them for which work was under process when the incidents of violence began.

The NGEA leaders who were at the forefront of the protest on Thursday have been named in the FIR for their complicity in the incidents. The perpetrators named in the FIR are NGEA Secretary Brithen M Sangma, President Senora Johny Arengh, Joint Secretary Flaming B Marak, Adviser Balseng M Sangma and members Chris Jenny Ch Marak, Tengsmey Sangma, Sengmilla Ch Momin and Henyvirth Marak.

“Leaders of NGEA and others have without any authority caused illegal obstruction and stopped the vehicles of the members and officers and illegally started to search/check their vehicles thereby showing disrespect to the elected members who are also their authorities with intention to cause insult and humiliation to the elected members,” stated the FIR which mentions the sequence of events that took place as the CEM and officers were leaving office after a day of work in the council.

The FIR also stated that stone pelting was resorted to on vehicles of the members and officers with an intention to cause harm to the officers and mention the targeting of a particular officer by the mob.

“Intended to cause physical harm to the officers especially Assistant Accounts Officer Glory Hasting R Marak and some of them even shouted not to spare him “Watnabe in Garo” and challenged him to come out of the vehicle, in the meantime some of them had wanted to drag him out of his vehicles with a view to assault him for which he has to sped away with his vehicle to safe himself from this unruly mob,” mentioned the GHADC Principal Secretary in the FIR.

A political angle to the ongoing protest has also been pointed out in the FIR which mentioned that a woman who was not even a member of the NGEA, Rakie Sangma, who has political affiliations was allowed to give a fiery speech in public on the 26th of May during the strike.

“This act of the association has gone against their own constitution to be non-political,” pointed out the GHADC Principal Secretary in the police complaint.

The authorities accuse the NGEA of taking the law into their own hands by resorting to such illegal acts.

“They have no right to obstruct their authorities and have no power to cause obstruction while the elected members and the officers are discharging their official duties,” stated the complaint and also brought it to notice that the striking employees had broken curfew laws of the pandemic and violated the Meghalaya Epidemic diseases Covid 19 Regulations 2020 by gathering in large numbers despite curfew in place.

NGEA counter FIR against official for attempted run over 

Members of the GHADC NGEA striking staff have filed a police FIR against the district council assistant accounts officer Glory Hesting R Marak for his alleged unruly driving which endangered the lives of protestors after he sped away despite people being on the middle of the road during Thursday’s incident.

In a police complaint lodged on Thursday the FIR mentioned that two women employees sustained injuries and narrowly escaped with their lives after the accounts officer drove past them in speed in his vehicle despite being asked to slow down. The NGEA claimed that there was no intention to harm anybody and were only stopping vehicles tyo check if office files were being taken out by officials.

Meanwhile the family members and clan of the accused officer have also filed a counter FIR against the NGEA for endangering his life with an attempt to assault him during the incident.

In the FIR the petitioners mentioned that since he is a gazetted officer given orders to attend office he was only doing his duty when he became a target.

“He was directed by the authority to attend office and to undertake work in the interest of the public even during curfew for pandemic. Fearing for his life, he was forced to drive away from the mob as there was every possibility that physical harm including attempted murder was intended on him as they pelted stones on his vehicle,” the FIR on behalf of the official mentioned.

The FIR has named all the top leaders of NGEA for the attack on the official and have sought appropriate legal action against them.