Nov. 18: Panic-stricken Karbis, mostly students, today fled Shillong in droves as tension mounted over the persecution of the community in retaliation for militant attacks on Khasi and Pnar residents of neighbouring Karbi Anglong district of Assam.

A student of theology suffered third-degree burns and head injuries when assailants set him ablaze in the Meghalaya capital yesterday.

The majority of Karbi residents of Shillong headed for Diphu, the headquarters of Karbi Anglong district, and Guwahati. As many as 40 students left for the Assam capital under police escort.

Meghalaya home minister R.G. Lyngdoh placated the Karbis who are still in the state, saying the government was in control of the situation and would protect them.

“We want to prevent the exodus of Karbi students from Shillong. Such knee-jerk reactions aggravates problems instead of solving them, but we cannot force students who are leaving Shillong of their own accord to stay back,” he said.

Lyngdoh proposed “joint patrolling and joint operations” with Assam along the Meghalaya-Karbi Anglong border during a telephonic discussion with his Assam counterpart Rockybul Hussain this afternoon.

The deputy commissioners and superintendents of police of Jaintia Hills and Karbi Anglong met at Kheroni in the Assam hill district around the same time to find a way to defuse the tension along the border.

The origin of the conflict lies in Block I of Karbi Anglong, where Karbi militants are targeting Khasi and Pnar (Jaintia) people. Over 4,000 Khasi-Pnar villagers have fled their homes in the area since militants suspected to be from the United People’s Democratic Solidarity, a Karbi militant group, killed three Pnars.

The plight of the refugees sheltered in relief camps at Sahsniang village, in the Jaintia Hills, has evoked protests from several organisations of the state. Two refugee children died recently allegedly due to inadequate medical attention.

The Khasi Students Union (KSU), which is spearheading the agitation, has issued quit notices to all Karbi residents of Shillong. The organisation has, however, denied being involved in any of the attacks on Karbis.