Shillong’s Punjabi Lane residents put on notice

Shillong, June 1

The authorities have clamped prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC in Punjabi Lane area and served notices on its residents, directing them to furnish documents within a month to prove that they had settled in the area legally.

Punjabi Lane is inhabited by people from Punjab who were brought to Shillong around 200 years ago by the British to work as cleaners and sweepers. An incident of assault in the area in May last year had resulted in group clashes, following which it was put under curfew for over a month.

Following the direction of a high-level committee of the state government, the Shillong Municipal Board officials served notices on Friday.

Section 144 was clamped in Punjabi Lane before the notices were served as there were Intelligence inputs apprehending trouble in the area, a senior official of the East Khasi Hills district administration said.

The prohibitory orders will remain in place till further notice. In the notice, the residents were asked to furnish documents regarding possession of either land or house and the period of their stay.

The notice said the information would be helpful for preparing long and short-term policies by the government for resolving the issue at Punjabi Lane. — PTI