Internet services restored in Meghalaya's Garo Hills: Official

Internet and messaging services were today restored in Garo Hills, where an alleged social media post against the indigenous people of the region sparked a row here four days ago, a district official said.

Local people, along with NGOs volunteers, had stormed the office of the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) last Friday, demanding the removal of its forest advisory committee chairman Sofiur Rehman, after an anti-Garo post, allegedly from his Facebook account, went viral on social media.

An elected member of District Council of Balachanda from the BJP, Rehman has dismissed the allegations, saying his social media account has been "hacked".

In the past too, the NGOs had objected to Rehman's appointment to the council as he was not a native of the region.

The shutdown of messaging services did not "go down well" with local people, who felt the matter had been escalated beyond "reasonable understanding", the district official added.

Meghalaya had been experiencing tense situations in its various pockets over the past two weeks.

In Shillong, violent clashes between Khasis and Sikhs in Punjabi Lane area had prompted the administration to impose curfew on the city.

A top official said yesterday that curfew would remain in force in the state capital for the next few days, in line with the directions of the state government.