Shillong: RTI activist Agnes Kharshiing who was assaulted by coal mafias last month, on Thursday reiterated her demand that the case be handed over to the CBI. Agnes and her aide Amita Sangma were brutally assaulted when both the women had gone to take photographs of the illegal coal mining in East Jaintia Hills district on November 8.
“The CBI is a seasoned investigation agency and I insist the case to be handed over to the CBI since powerful people are also supporting the accused people,” Agnes told PTI. She also suggested that the state government refrain from wasting public money by instituting an independent inquiry into the November 8 attack which left her brutally injured and on life support for almost a month. She said judicial inquiries in the past had shown no results, quoting past inquiries which cost the state’s exchequer over Rs 1 crore.
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Amita Sangma and the family members of both had also written to the governor demanding handing over of the probe to the CBI. Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma and his cabinet had decided to institute a judicial inquiry into the case. At least six persons have been arrested so far while the main accused, who had verbally stopped the activists from taking photographs, is on the run.
Agnes was admitted to the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Science (NEIGRIHMS) in a serious condition after the attack. She was discharged from the hospital on December 10.
(PTI)