Shillong, September 16: Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma on Wednesday visited the Directorate of Mineral Resources (DMR) office at Risa Colony shortly after a petrol bomb attack damaged a private vehicle parked inside the premises. The Chief Minister, accompanied by the Chief Secretary and other senior officials, reviewed the situation and assured government assistance towards the repair expenses of the damaged vehicle, which belongs to a DMR staff member.
DMR Director M.B. Tongper said the Chief Minister also stressed the need to strengthen surveillance at government offices by installing additional CCTV cameras. “The CM assessed the situation. He said that since the vehicle belongs to staff and it is a private vehicle, the government will help with the expenses. The CM also stressed the need to install more CCTVs, not just for us but for other office buildings so that such incidents can be detected,” Tongper said.
The incident occurred at around 3.32 pm, when employees were still on duty at the office. According to officials, the petrol bomb struck an Alto car bearing registration number ML 05 AC 0429, which belongs to a DMR officer.
Recounting the incident, Tongper said he was attending a meeting when he heard the sound of breaking glass. “I was in this room, I had a meeting and I just heard the sound of glass breaking. I thought a vehicle had hit a pillar, but when we looked properly, we saw that there was a fire. The vehicle caught fire from the front,” he said.
Tongper said staff members who were outside immediately responded and managed to extinguish the blaze within four to five minutes. “Luckily our staff were outside and within just 4-5 minutes we were able to douse the fire. We extinguished it immediately,” he added.
The DMR subsequently informed the police, fire service and the Deputy Commissioner about the incident. Fire and emergency personnel reached the spot after the flames had already been put out.
Police from Laitumkhrah Police Station have begun an investigation into the attack. Two FIRs have been filed in connection with the incident — one by the DMR Director and another by the owner of the damaged vehicle.
Tongper said the motive behind the attack and the identity of those responsible remain unknown. “We don’t know who is involved. This is the first time such an incident has happened and we don’t know for what reason it happened. We have shared everything with the police and investigation is underway,” he said.
