3 CRPF personnel injured in stone-pelting

Three CRPF personnel were injured when local protesters pelted stones at their camp in Mawlai, an official of the central paramilitary force said on Monday.

The Ministry of Home Affairs is closely monitoring the situation in the state and have sent 10 companies of paramilitary forces to quell the unrest.

On Sunday, curfew was relaxed for eight hours but fresh bouts of violence broke out in the night following which police resorted to lobbing teargas shells to bring the situation under control.

Normal life continued to remain affected for the fourth day in a row on Monday with curfew imposed in parts of the city under the Lumdiengjri police station and Cantonment Beat House areas since 4 am, a police officer said.

The Army conducted a flag march in Shillong for the second day on Monday.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Conrad S Sangma chaired an all-party meeting in Shillong over the clashes.

A four-member team sent by Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and headed by Cabinet minister Sukhjinder Randhawa met Sangma on Monday.

The National Commission for Minorities (NCM) on Monday decided to send a member to Shillong to investigate the clashes.

NCM member Manjit Singh Rai from Punjab will visit the violence-hit areas to assess the situation, NCM chairperson Syed Ghayorul Hasan Rizvi said.

The Meghalaya capital has been witnessing clashes between residents of the city's Punjabi Line area and Khasi drivers of state-run buses since Thursday.

Clashes broke out on May 31 in Punjabi Line area when a bus handyman was reportedly beaten up by a group of residents.

More than 10 people, including policemen, were injured in the violence. One person has been arrested so far in connection with the assault.

Sangma had claimed that the violence was a local issue and some people with vested interests had been trying to give a communal colour to it.