Shillong, May 15: East Khasi Hills Superintendent of Police Vivek Syiem on Friday said the state police will decide whether to appeal for the cancellation of anticipatory bail granted to 11 individuals, including a headman, only after the postmortem examination of Trophimos Khongmawdoh is completed.
“Only after the postmortem will we be able to take a call on whether to move an appeal for cancellation of the anticipatory bail,” SP Syiem said, referring to the 11 accused who obtained bail from the district council court.
The case relates to the death of Trophimos Khongmawdoh on April 7.
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According to the SP, the deceased’s father, Netnobiweit Khongsdoh, lodged an FIR on May 5 alleging that his son was assaulted by the headman and members of the Village Defence Party (VDP).
“We received the FIR on May 5 regarding an incident that occurred on April 7, in which it was alleged that the deceased was assaulted by the headman and members of the VDP,” Syiem said.
Following the complaint, police registered a murder case at Pynursla Police Station.
Police have also approached the court seeking permission to exhume the body for examination. The date for the exhumation will be fixed by the SDO (Civil) of Pynursla, after which a spot postmortem will be conducted.
“Based on the findings of the postmortem, we will decide the next course of action,” the SP stated.
Syiem further informed that the investigation is being monitored by the SDPO of Pynursla and the SP City.
“As of now, since the accused have secured bail, we will first wait for the postmortem findings before taking any further decision,” he added.
He also confirmed that the headman was among those granted bail.
Commenting on the role of the VDP, the SP said its members are expected to work in coordination with the police and not take the law into their own hands.
“VDP members have been instructed and have taken an oath to uphold the law, work in tandem with the police, and inform authorities about any incident,” he said.
Referring to the case, Syiem said the VDP allegedly failed to inform the police and instead took matters into their own hands.
“We will wait for the postmortem report to ascertain whether the death was indeed caused due to the alleged assault,” he added.
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