Two men from the Bengali Muslim community were killed after violence erupted in West Garo Hills amid tensions over the participation of non-tribal candidates in the upcoming Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) elections.
The deceased were identified as Khairul Islam and Ashraful Islam, who were killed during violence that broke out late Monday night in Chibinang, located in the Phulbari plains belt.
According to Meghalaya DGP Idashisha Nongrum, the deaths occurred in the early hours of Tuesday when agitated groups gathered in Chibinang despite restrictions.
Meanwhile, although initial reports suggested the deaths occurred during police firing, post-mortem examinations conducted at Tura Civil Hospital ruled out the possibility that the victims were killed by police gunfire, authorities in West Garo Hills said.
The autopsy revealed that one of the victims died after being attacked with a sharp weapon, while the other suffered fatal gunshot injuries from a country-made pistol.
Superintendent of Police Abraham T. Sangma said police personnel who were deployed to control the situation had fired blank rounds in an attempt to disperse the clashing groups.
However, the post-mortem findings confirmed that no standard police-issued weapons were responsible for the deaths.
The two bodies were recovered from the scene after the violence subsided and were subsequently sent for autopsy.
This story was originally published in maktoobmedia.com. Read the full story here.