New Delhi: The Meghalaya Police arrested three top leaders of the student organisation and indigenous pressure group Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) after Wednesday’s violence and vandalism in Shillong.
The East Khasi Hills district police made the arrests hours after a bike rally and flag march organised by the KSU spiralled into widespread violence, leading to vandalism of public properties including two statues of Subhash Chandra Bose and Swami Vivekananda. Police officials said 31 vehicles were damaged in the violence.
The flag march was organised after the expiry of a 15-day deadline set for the Conrad Sangma government regarding its five-point agenda, which includes reforms to the Meghalaya Public Service Commission (MPSC) recruitment process in favour of local residents.
“Top three KSU leaders Raymond Kharjana, Pynkmenlang Sanmiet, and Reuben Najiar have been arrested as part of the probe into the incident of violence in Shillong,” Director General of Police (DGP) Idashisha Nongrang told ThePrint.
Kharjana is the president of the outfit known for championing the cause of the Khasi community in Meghalaya. Sanmiet is the vice-president, while Najiar is the general secretary. A local court sent the trio to 14 days of judicial custody.
“The administration gave the KSU permission to hold a flag march and bike rally based on an agreed-upon schedule and chalked-out routes for which they had given an undertaking. The violence and vandalism clearly violate the agreed-upon terms and conditions for the permission,” the DGP said.
The district administration permitted the KSU to hold a rally and black flag march for two hours between 3 pm and 5 pm on Wednesday.
Overall, the district police registered 15 FIRs, East Khasi Hills Superintendent of Police (SP) Vivek Syiem told ThePrint. The KSU leaders were arrested as part of a probe into one FIR filed on the complaint of the local executive magistrate, who documented the episode of violence on the street.
Later, KSU former president Lambokstarwell Marngar said that the arrest of three senior KSU leaders would not weaken the organisation.
Instead, he said in a statement, the arrests would strengthen the union’s determination to continue its democratic agitation over its five-point charter of demands. “You may arrest the leaders, but you cannot arrest the issues. The issues will continue.”
“Our main demand is the implementation of the five demands. Whether our leaders are released or not, the issues will continue and the KSU will continue its democratic agitation,” Marngar added.
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The 15-day ultimatum
The violence broke out when the KSU office-bearers and members embarked on a bike rally for which the district administration had granted permission.
However, the district administration stated there were clear violations of the demonstration’s established conditions.
“There were undertakings that there would be no masked men among the protesters, nor would they have inflammable materials during the demonstration. However, videos available on social media verify several masked men,” East Khasi Hills Deputy Commissioner Abhilash Baranwal told ThePrint.
On the other hand, Marngar said the KSU had clarified that individuals with ulterior motives may have infiltrated the rally with the intention of creating disorder and damaging the reputation of the organisation.
“During my nine years of leading the KSU, I have witnessed attempts to sabotage the Union’s programmes. We will continue our agitation with wisdom and democratic means, not with weapons,” he said.
After the violence, the district administration withdrew the permission to hold a sit-in protest at Khyandai Lad in Shillong earlier given to the KSU, officials said.
On 3 August, KSU general secretary Najiar wrote a letter to the CM, seeking his immediate intervention regarding their five-point charter.
Among the demands raised by the KSU was the discontinuation of the requirement for personal interviews for recruitment to junior-level non-gazetted posts. In an eight-page letter to the CM, the KSU suggested that the interview process was a “big hurdle for fair and transparent recruitment”.
“Although there has been a clear-cut instruction from the Government of India, personal interviews are still continuing in the State, which is a big hurdle for fair and transparent recruitment,” the KSU letter said.
“Thus, the Union strongly demands that personal interviews for Grade B (non-gazetted) C and D must be abolished to curb corruption and strive ahead for fair and transparent recruitment.”
The KSU also urged the government to implement the recommendations of the ‘MPSC Reform Committee 2025 to improve the recruitment process of the State Public Service Commission and district-level recruitment. Several of those recommendations were implemented, but others were not, it added.
“Another major issue is that any advertisement that has been published by MPSC calls for applications from any candidates who are ‘genuine residents of India’,” the letter said.
This, the KSU said, is contrary to other states where applications are received only from their residents. “State Government jobs are meant only for genuine residents of the States and any deviation from it would not be accepted by the Union.”
The other demands include intensive efforts to detect and deport illegal immigrants from Meghalaya.
“After a series of protests, the Union had a dialogue with the Government of Meghalaya in 2024 and the Government has proposed an amendment to the Migrant Workman Act, 2020 to curb illegal immigration under the pretext of employment, register the migrant workers and made police verification mandatory to check the criminal antecedent of the migrant worker coming for work,” the KSU stated.
On Wednesday, Meghalaya Cabinet Minister Wailadmiki Shylla said the government was open to discussing all demands raised by the KSU.
In the police complaint, the Shillong executive magistrate noted several bikers covered their number plates. “Participants forming part of the group or procession were caught vandalising/damaging government vehicles, causing damage to government property. Also, it was reported that private vehicles were also damaged during the rally,” it said.
“It was further reported that one individual of the general public was attacked during the rally by sticks and other sharp objects which injured him badly and endangered his life, which was tantamount to an attempt to murder.”
Others were assaulted by stick- and rod-wielding members, it added.
Based on the complaint, the police booked and arrested the KSU leaders on Wednesday evening. When a police team went to arrest the trio in the evening, protesters allegedly hurled petrol bombs, leading to the registration of another FIR.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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