BSF, villagers clash at Dawki

Shillong, July 10 : Tension prevailed at Bakur village in Dawki after a confrontation between the BSF and the residents last night.

A group of residents, led by the village headman of Bakur village headman, Markos Khonglah, allegedly hit a BSF constable with a blunt object, injuring him.

The Jaintia Hills superintendent of police, M.K. Singh, said according to the complaint lodged by the BSF around 11.30pm yesterday, there was a confrontation between the BSF and the local residents.

The police arrested the headman on the basis of the complaint but he was later released, as the offence was bailable under Sections 325 353 and 34 of the IPC.

On their part, the villagers claimed that the BSF personnel on duty were drunk.

They said one of the jawans was injured when he allegedly tried to scale the wall of the residence of the headman, who had objected to the constables drinking in the village.

In his complaint, the headman said that he had asked three BSF constables, who sat drinking on a footpath in Bakur village last night, not to do so in a public place.

When he returned home, one of the BSF personnel tried to force their way into his residence and in the confrontation, the headman hit the constable.

The BSF, in an FIR filed at Dawki police station said three local residents, including the village headman, were drunk and beat up the constable besides hitting him with a blunt object.

A counter complaint filed by the headman, however, alleged that the constable was at fault.

The villagers said the BSF had no right to trespass into the house of village headman and instead, should have contacted the police.

The BSF public relations officer, Ravi Gandhi, said for the last seven days, the BSF had intensified night patrols in the area to check smuggling and the incident may be the result of some misunderstanding.

The injured constable, with five stitches on his head, was brought to Shil- long where his condition was stated to be stable, Gandhi added.