Shillong, September 12: Laban Police Station came under a petrol bomb attack in the early hours of Saturday, with two explosive bottles hurled into the premises and a police vehicle partially damaged.
The incident occurred at around 2.15 am when miscreants allegedly threw two petrol bombs over the boundary fence towards the police station and a parked police gypsy bearing registration number ML-02-0196. The vehicle sustained partial damage in the attack, while two police personnel present at the station had a narrow escape and were not injured.
Police are examining CCTV footage from the premises, which reportedly captured the petrol bombs being thrown over the fence and directed towards the police station and the vehicle. “Investigation is on to nab those involved,” East Khasi Hills Superintendent of Police Vivek Syiem said.
The attack comes amid heightened security deployment in Shillong following recent incidents of tyre burning in different parts of the city. Notes reportedly recovered at some of the locations had demanded an end to what was described as random arrests of members of a particular organisation. Saturday’s incident is the latest in a series of suspected petrol bomb attacks and vehicle-burning incidents reported in Shillong and other parts of Meghalaya in recent weeks.
On August 3, the Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board office in Shillong was targeted in a petrol bomb attack. On August 21, the former NPP office and Madanrting Police Station were also attacked, while on September 5, a suspected petrol bomb was allegedly hurled at the MeCOFED Market at Mawiong. The recurring incidents have raised concerns over law and order and public safety in the state.
