Meghalaya CM announces medical allowance of Rs 50,000 for each injured in violent protests

Shillong: Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma has announced a medical allowance of Rs 50,000 for each injured in the violent protests outside the CM's secretariat amid the clamour to declare Tura as the 'winter capital' of the state.

The Chief Minister said on Monday, "I have decided that I will be giving Rs 50,000 as medical allowance to all those people who were injured & all the expenditure will be borne by the government"

"The incident that took place today in Tura outside the CM Secretariat is indeed very unfortunate...while discussions were almost over...we heard some agitation from outside...and it seems that the pelting of stones was initiated by people who were not part of the agitating groups...Necessary action will be taken from the police side", said CM Sangma.

Notably, the strong crowd gathered outside the CM's secretariat on Monday evening in Tura and started pelting stones while the CM was holding discussions with the organisations agitating in Garo-hills, who have been on a hunger-strike demanding Tura to be declared as the 'winter capital', according to an official statement from the CM's secretariat.

The statement said that five police personnels were injured in the violence.

"Police fired tear gas shells to disperse the crowd. Five police personnel were injured. The CM and Public Health Engineering (PHE) minister are overseeing the matter at CMO Tura", the official statement said.