Editor's Pick: Six killed in firing on Meghalaya, Assam border

Dear reader, We have now made it easier for you to manage your The Hindu newsletter subscriptions in one place! 1. Visit The Hindu newsletters page here 2. Click MANAGE tab and then click LOGIN / SIGN UP 3. If you don’t have an account with The Hindu, please click SIGN UP OR If you already have an account with The Hindu with this email ID, please login using the email ID. Six people, including an Assam Forest guard and five villagers, were killed in a firing incident on the Assam-Meghalaya border on early Tuesday morning. Several others were injured too. “The incident reportedly took place when the forest party attempted to stop a truck smuggling out illegal timber. When the truck was stopped, the forest personnel were gheraoed by unknown miscreants who resorted to violence. In order to save their lives, the forest party resorted to firing. In the incident, three civilians and one forest guard died,” a statement issued by the Assam government read. However, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma said that five of the six people killed were residents of Meghalaya who died “due to firing by Assam police and Assam Forest guards”. “Our government will take necessary steps to ensure that justice is done and action is taken against all those responsible for the inhuman act. As a mark of respect and mourning for the deceased, the State government decided to cancel all upcoming official festivals,” he said. Chief Minister Sangma also announced ex-gratia of ₹5 lakh each to the families of the deceased while appealing to the people of Meghalaya to maintain peace and harmony. Meghalaya government suspended mobile internet or data services in seven districts for 48 hours starting 10.30 a.m. on Tuesday. Assam police restricted the movement of vehicles travelling to Meghalaya’s capital Shillong and the headquarters of East Khasi Hills district, one of the seven where mobile internet has been suspended. Assam and Meghalaya are currently in the process of resolving a 50-year-old border dispute. The two States started serious efforts to resolve the dispute in 1983 but it was only in March 2022 that a partial agreement was reached. The firing incident comes at a time when efforts to resolve differences in the remaining six of the 12 disputed sectors on the interstate boundary are on. The Hindu’s Editorials Persisting issues: On the new data protection bill Strategy to save: On the National Suicide Prevention Strategy The Hindu’s Daily News Quiz When was the University Grants Commission Act passed? 1957 1960 1958 1956 To know the answer and to take the quiz, click here. [logo] Editor's Pick 23 NOVEMBER 2022 [The Hindu logo] In the Editor's Pick newsletter, The Hindu explains why a story was important enough to be carried on the front page of today's edition of our newspaper. [Arrow]( [Open in browser]( [Mail icon]( [More newsletters]( Six killed in firing on Meghalaya, Assam border Dear reader, We have now made it easier for you to manage your The Hindu newsletter subscriptions in one place! 1. Visit The Hindu newsletters page [here]( 2. Click MANAGE tab and then click LOGIN / SIGN UP 3. If you don’t have an account with The Hindu, please click SIGN UP OR If you already have an account with The Hindu with this email ID, please login using the email ID. Six people, including an Assam Forest guard and five villagers, were[killed in a firing incident]( on the Assam-Meghalaya border on early Tuesday morning. Several others were injured too. “The incident reportedly took place when the forest party attempted to stop a truck smuggling out illegal timber. When the truck was stopped, the forest personnel were gheraoed by unknown miscreants who resorted to violence. In order to save their lives, the forest party resorted to firing. In the incident, three civilians and one forest guard died,” a statement issued by the Assam government read. However, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma said that five of the six people killed were residents of Meghalaya who died “due to firing by Assam police and Assam Forest guards”. “Our government will take necessary steps to ensure that justice is done and action is taken against all those responsible for the inhuman act. As a mark of respect and mourning for the deceased, the State government decided to cancel all upcoming official festivals,” he said. Chief Minister Sangma also announced ex-gratia of ₹5 lakh each to the families of the deceased while appealing to the people of Meghalaya to maintain peace and harmony. Meghalaya government suspended mobile internet or data services in seven districts for 48 hours starting 10.30 a.m. on Tuesday. Assam police restricted the movement of vehicles travelling to Meghalaya’s capital Shillong and the headquarters of East Khasi Hills district, one of the seven where mobile internet has been suspended. Assam and Meghalaya are currently in the process of resolving [a 50-year-old border dispute](. The two States started serious efforts to resolve the dispute in 1983 but it was only in March 2022 that a partial agreement was reached. The firing incident comes at a time when efforts to resolve differences in the remaining six of the 12 disputed sectors on the interstate boundary are on. The Hindu’s Editorials [Arrow][Persisting issues: On the new data protection bill]( [Arrow][Strategy to save: On the National Suicide Prevention Strategy]( The Hindu’s Daily News Quiz When was the University Grants Commission Act passed? - 1957 - 1960 - 1958 - 1956 To know the answer and to take the quiz, [click here.]( Today’s Best Reads [[Mehrauli murder | Aftab will kill me, cut me into pieces, Shraddha told Maharashtra police in 2020] Mehrauli murder | Aftab will kill me, cut me into pieces, Shraddha told Maharashtra police in 2020]( [[Digital detox helpline in Bengaluru to assist people to overcome addiction to technology] Digital detox helpline in Bengaluru to assist people to overcome addiction to technology]( [[Explained | The SC ruling on pensions for women IAF officers] Explained | The SC ruling on pensions for women IAF officers]( [[Zorba, India’s first dog on anti-poacher duty, dies in Guwahati] Zorba, India’s first dog on anti-poacher duty, dies in Guwahati]( Copyright @ 2022, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. 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