Shillong, Nov. 28: Residents of Malki, a residential area of the Meghalaya capital, today observed a bandh in protest against the state of lawlessness here.

On Tuesday, unidentified assailants opened fire inside Variety Medical Hall at Iewduh, killing septuagenarian social activist Rupamai Kharmalki. The victim, endearingly called Kong Rupa, was a leader of the Hill State Movement and a member of the All-Party Hill Leaders’ Conference.

Shops, offices, schools, business establishments and banks in and around Malki remained closed throughout the day. Bindo Lanong, a member of the Malki dorbar, described the bandh as a spontaneous protest against the cult of violence that had struck roots in Shillong.

“Enough is enough. People are fed up with the killing of innocents,” Lanong, who is also the deputy chief executive member of the district council, said. The Malki dorbar, which held a meeting today, will submit memoranda to the chief secretary and the director-general of police, seeking the deployment of a special police force at Iewduh.

“We are concerned over what is happening in Shillong. If such incidents continue, people will start countering crime in their own way,” Besterwell Kharbuli, a resident of the town, said.

The senior citizen said the way Malki had reacted to Kong Rupa’s killing could soon become the norm in every locality. “Iewduh, which is the hub of Khasi culture, require more attention from the Syiem of Mylliem. It is surprising that Iewduh has become an unsafe place,” he added.

At one time, the rate of crime in Malki was high. Today, it is a model locality, but the same cannot be said of most areas. According to a study conducted by a university group, as many as 2,840 incidents of crime had taken place in the East Khasi Hills till September.