A mob pelted stones at Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma’s office in Tura on Monday, injuring five security personnel. Sangma, who was inside his office at the time, was unharmed in the incident but is currently stuck inside his office as hundreds have surrounded his office and have blocked the access road.

Garo Hills-based civil society groups have been on a hunger strike demanding for a winter capital in Tura. Following a hunger strike which had been going on for 14 days, CM Sangma arrived in Tura from Shillong on Monday to hold talks with the protesting civil bodies including the A’chik Conscious Holistic Integrated Krima (ACHIK) and the Garo Hills State Movement Committee (GHSMC) at the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) in Tura.

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The meeting in Tura between the CM and the groups was progressing peacefully for over three hours. However, the situation took an unexpected turn when a mob gathered at the CMO Tura and began pelting stones.

“Discussions were going on, we had already agreed to meet in Shillong to further discuss the matter with all stakeholders, and the NGOs seemed more or less satisfied. A majority of the society and NGOs were not part of this fasting protest, only two-three of them were there. 90 per cent of the organisations weren’t part of this,” Conrad Sangma said in a video statement.

“Even then, I believe that dialogue is important. Hence, I made a point to meet them. After the discussion was almost over, we heard sloganeering from outside. I asked them not to create any scene out here. Their leaders (of the NGOs in talks) went outside to speak to the people. They came back and said they did not know who these people were, never seen them before during the fasting protest,” Sangma said, adding the leaders themselves have taken shelter inside as they were unable to leave.

The civil society groups that have been demanding a winter capital in Tura include ACHIK and GHSMC.

The police had to resort to firing tear gas shells to disperse the crowd. Five security personnel were injured in the commotion that followed.

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The situation at the Chief Minister’s Office in Tura remains tense. CM Sangma and Public Health Engineering minister Marcuise N Marak are among the officials stuck inside the office.

Meanwhile, during the meeting, CM Sangma invited the agitating groups for a discussion in Shillong which is tentatively scheduled for August 8 or 9.