Shillong, June 6 : Meghalaya police, allegedly under pressure from higher-ups, today dropped all charges against Thomas Nongtdu, the Congress-nominated member of Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council, who was arrested for funding the mastermind of the recent jailbreak here.
Police officials were tight-lipped about the manner in which the accused, arrested on Wednesday night, obtained bail and the subsequent dropping of charges against him.
Expressing concern over the haste in which Nongtdu was released, Agnes Kharshiing, the president of Civil Society Women’s Organisation, an NGO, said the government should take the matter seriously and DGP Anil Pradhan should be urged to re-investigate the case.
“We fear there is political interference, leading to the release of the Congress MDC. It appears that the DGP wants to slow down the investigation,” she said.
She added that it was illogical that the police did not ask for Nongtdu’s custody. The fact that he was released today after being remanded in 14 days’ judicial custody yesterday has not failed to raise eyebrows.Former chief minister Donkupar Roy today asked chief minister D.D. Lapang to give the police a free hand to investigate the jailbreak.