Mukul Sangma presses for CBI inquiry into student deaths

Shillong: Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma on Thursday pressed for a CBI probe into the death of two students from the North East - Dana Silva M Sangma from Meghalaya and Richard Loitam of Manipur in Haryana and Karnataka respectively. “I have put a word to both the chief ministers officially in a letter to take necessary steps for handing over the cases to the CBI and communicate their willingness accordingly,” Mukul told a small gathering of people who converged at Khyndailad in a candle light vigil the city to mourn the death of the two students recently.[caption id=“attachment_297713” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma. Image courtesy PIB”]  [/caption] The chief minister and his cabinet colleagues joined hundreds of students and concerned citizens while lighting the candles in the vigil organised by the Shillong Press Club and I-CARE, a local NGO in Shillong. According to the chief minister, the response of both the chief ministers “will go a long way in reflecting the sensitivity of their governments”. He said, “We need to further carry forward this particular engagement to address the issues of various insensitivity natures of educational institutions across the country towards students community.” Mukul said, “There must be a law enacted for the whole country to ensure that safety and security of students are taken into consideration and to regulate these universities.” The chief minister said mandating such a law through legislation will go a long way in creating an environment which will be a win-win situation for both the students and the institutions. Richard Loitam was allegedly killed at his hostel in Bangalore while Dana Sangma committed suicide due to alleged “discrimination” by the university authorities in Gurgaon. PTI