The firing by Assam Police earlier this week which killed six persons was a clear incident of violation of human rights, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma told the National Human Rights Commission on Friday.

Sangma also urged the human rights body to take action in the matter.

Five of those killed in the police shooting on Tuesday were residents of Meghalaya, while one was an official of the Assam Forest Guard, Sangma had claimed, adding the village was part of his state. The Assam government, however, had claimed that only four persons were killed and that the village fell under its jurisdiction.

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Territorial disputes between the two states had begun when Meghalaya was carved out of Assam on January 21, 1972, under the Assam Reorganisation Act, 1971. Disputes arose after Meghalaya had challenged the law.

On Friday, Sangma met officials of the National Human Rights Commission, including the body’s Chairperson Arun Mishra.

“Apprised them about the actions that have been taken like the central agency enquiry into the matter,” he wrote in a tweet after the meeting. The chief minister said that at the meeting, he stressed on the need for the “proper sensitisation of forces deputed in sensitive border areas”.

The firing incident

The firing took place on Tuesday after Assam forest officials stopped a truck allegedly carrying smuggled timber. The violence occurred in the “Mukroh” village, which is a part of Meghalaya’s West Jaintia Hills district. But the Assam government calls it “Mukhrow”, claiming the village is part of its West Karbi Anglong district.

A day after the firing, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the police action appeared to have been unnecessary and unprovoked. The Assam Cabinet has also decided to transfer the inquiry into the matter to the Central Bureau of Investigation.