'Encounter' between police and militants in Meghalaya still on, says Sangma

A day after a tribal woman was shot dead by militants after she resisted their attempts to rape her in Meghalaya, senior leader P.A. Sangma said he he had been hearing reports of an encounter still going on between the militants and the state police.

"There are reports that an encounter is going on between the militants and the police. I only hope this is not a fake encounter, because very often, in Meghalaya, we have witnessed fake encounters where innocent people have been killed. The culprits as they have already been identified should be arrested and punished. " said Sangma.

Condemning the act, he appealed to the people to be calm and maintain peace.

"The incident that took place yesterday is a horrible incident, I have condemned that already, and I appeal to the people to be very calm," added Sangma.

The militants are suspected to belong to the Garo National Liberation Front.

According to reports, the victim was fired at point blank range by the militants on Tuesday while her family was forcibly locked up in their house in South Garo Hills.