GUWAHATI: Tension prevailed in Garo Hills of Meghalaya on Saturday though no untoward incident was reported from the two districts, where nine persons died in police firing on Friday.

Six of the injured were shifted to Guwahati, while the condition of two undergoing treatment in the Tura Civil Hospital was critical. Of about 50 persons who came there with injuries, 24 were admitted and the rest were discharged after first aid.

The bodies of all the victims were buried by family members in the afternoon. Five persons died at Williamnagar, headquarters of East Garo Hills and four at Tura, West Garo Hills district headquarters, when the police and the Central Reserve Police Force opened fire on rallies taken out by the Garo Students Union (GSU) defying prohibitory orders.

Curfew, imposed on the two towns, was not relaxed, even as the Army was called out to assist the district administration. There was heavy deployment of the CRPF and Border Security Force personnel on the streets of Tura and Williamnagar.

The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has demanded imposition of President's Rule and sacking of the Deputy Chief Minister in charge of Home and Education, Mukul Sangma. All seven NCP legislators of the NCP and Purno A. Sangma, who represents Tura in the Lok Sabha, have threatened to quit the Legislature and Parliament if their demands are not met.

Mr. Sangma described the firing as "unprovoked." He said the Garos were agitated over the "step-motherly treatment" meted out to them. Barring the Meghalaya Board of Secondary Education (MBOSE), there was no presence of Meghalaya in the Garo Hills region. "All other offices at Tura and other areas of Garo Hills belong to the Central Government. Now the State Government wants to bifurcate the only State office of MBOSE," he told reporters.

The GSU has been spearheading a non-cooperation movement in the three districts of the region from September 14 in protest against the recommendation of the State Level Committee.

The student body felt that the committee's suggestion that a director be appointed for the Shillong office of the MBOSE would be tantamount to bifurcation of the board, headquartered at Tura.

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