Mukroh firing incident: Assam, Meghalaya govts agree to hand over probe to CBI; CM level talks held in Guwahati

Both the Chief Ministers have also decided to quickly resolve differences in 3 areas of differences

The Assam and Meghalaya governments have mutually agreed upon to hand over the probe into the Mukroh firing incident to the CBI. This was decided by both Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and his Meghalaya counterpart Conrad Sangma at the Chief Ministerial level talks between both the states held in Guwahati this evening.

Both the sides have also resolved to urge the CBI to file the case in a neutral venue.

Briefing the media, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, “Today we had a Regional Committee level and CM level meeting to further resolve the Assam Meghalaya border dispute. Discussion was very very cordial and we have been able to take certain important decisions today.

As a confidence building measure we have decided to wind up the Judicial Commission order by the Government of Assam and Meghalaya to inquire the Mukroh firing incident. Instead both the governments will now request the CBI to inquire the matter instead of the judicial commission. We will request the CBI not to register the case either in Shillong or Guwahati, but in a neutral venue so that the central agency can investigate the incident of violence.

We have decided to wind up the Judicial Commission, because none of the Commissions are making any progress. This is because during hearing by the Assam’s Judicial Commission witnesses from Meghalaya are not coming, similarly during the hearing by the Meghalaya Judicial Commission witnesses from Assam are not going.“

Besides, the Assam Chief Minister informed that both the governments have decided to quickly resolve differences in 3 areas of dispute.

Sarma said, “We have decided to quickly resolve 3 areas of dispute. Assam is ready to quickly resolve the border dispute in Lampih, Borduar and Desh Deoomreah because it is a non-6th Schedule Area for us and we have more flexibility. We can quickly go and resolve but of course the final modality has to be found out by the Regional Committee. Regarding the 6 areas where we have already resolved the issue we are happy to inform you that finally the Survey of India has completed their survey in Hahim. Now border pillars will be erected and both the state governments have accepted the position.“

“In the rest of the 5 areas, we requested the Survey of India to quickly complete the survey before December 31. Today it was overall a very good discussion,” Chief Minister Sarma added.

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma also gave out details of the meeting and said, “We are happy to inform the people of both Assam and Meghalaya that after a very long drawn exercise we are now on the verge of also finalizing the actual pillars, the posts and the actual boundary lines in the first 6 areas of differences for which we have signed the MoU in presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Today in the meeting we have approved and given a green signal for the Hahim sector where the survey has been conducted along with the Assam and Meghalaya state officials. We are happy to announce that the line has been finalized. Similarly we have given instructions and decided that the rest 5 areas of differences again out of which 3 of them are very close to completion, we have instructed and taken decision that by December 31, all the 6 areas where the MoU had been signed in the first phase the actual line and demarcation by the Survey of India along with officials of both the states should be completed.

We have also discussed other areas of differences and we are happy to inform that in 3 of the areas we are moving very fast and we would like to resolve the issues. In 3 of the areas we are moving very aggressively and we have decided that Regional Committees on both sides should try and come to a conclusion at the earliest. We are working hard on that.“

WATCH ALSO:

COMMENTS