SHILLONG, OCT 1: KSU general secretary Reuben Najiar on Thursday said police allowed the August 19 rally to continue for over two hours even after alleged incidents of violence, and the union came to know about it only through media reports.
Najiar made the statement after appearing before the court following expiry of his 14-day interim bail granted on humanitarian grounds.
“Today, after being on 14-day interim bail due to a sad incident at home, I have come here to the Court as per the court order,” he said, adding the trial will now proceed.
Reiterating that KSU leaders did not indulge in violence, he said, “We did not do anything wrong. As leaders who were in the front, we did not throw stones or assault anyone.”
He questioned SP East Khasi Hills Vivek Syiem’s statement that police were not deployed as permission was given on trust.
“Was it trust or a trap to implicate members and leaders of the union? We have not bowed down on the issues we are pursuing. When the government feels it cannot make us bow down, it sent mafias or negative elements to create ruckus on that day,” Najiar alleged.
He said unlike the VPP rally on August 6 where police guarded the entire Secretariat, there was not even a traffic policeman during the KSU rally.
“During the rally, we also did not imagine that it was a trap, because while the rally was on, there was no incident at all,” he said.
“The SP, the DC have our phone numbers. Why did they not call and tell us to stop? They allowed the rally to continue for more than 2 hours and only after it ended we came to know through the media,” Najiar said.
While condemning the violence, he said KSU members were not involved and alleged the rally may have been hijacked by negative elements, pointing to a press conference by Shree Cement representatives on the same day.
“We believe that a fair and just judgment will prevail,” he said on the court proceedings, adding, “They have set a precedent that from now on, when small people do something, they will arrest the big people.”
On police extortion exposed by KSU’s sting at Mawkhanu and Thangshalai, he asked, “You arrest us because we held a rally, okay. Now the police are extorting money, whom will you arrest?”
“All these incidents happened under his watch. On the 8th through the media we saw that there was extortion of money from trucks. Why is the Police Department silent, why is the district administration and the Government silent?” he asked, alleging a system of collective corruption.
By Our Reporter
