The Meghalaya police have launched a probe into a poster, purportedly linked to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), threatening the indigenous communities of the State’s West Garo Hills district to vacate their lands.
The English diktat, pasted on a pole, primarily warned the tribal Garo people residing in Phulbari, Rajabala, Tikrikilla, Selsela, Garobadha, and Tura (district headquarters) of “serious consequences” if they do not vacate their plots by 2027.
The district’s Superintendent of Police, Abraham T. Sangma, said a suo-motu case was registered to find out who pasted the “provocative” poster and why. “Preliminary assessment indicates some people or groups with vested interests may have done this deliberately to create anxiety and disturb the law-and-order situation,” he said.
He said that the police found a solitary poster, which was sent for a forensic analysis.
In the State’s capital, Shillong, Deputy Chief Minister (in charge of Home) Prestone Tynsong said that the government was viewing the matter seriously. Tura MP Saleng Sangma urged the government to handle the situation with extreme caution and called for enhanced surveillance in the region.
The ISIS-linked poster is believed to be connected to the death of Dilseng M. Sangma, a Garo youth leader, after a group of people allegedly involved in illegal stone quarrying assaulted him and his companions on January 10. The incident sparked communal tension, as the attackers were mostly Bengali-speaking Muslims.
“Psychological warfare”
On Wednesday (January 28, 2029), the Confederation of Meghalaya Social Organisations (CoMSO) petitioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma, demanding a Central-level investigation into the poster.
“The use of the name of a globally recognised terrorist organisation like ISIS cannot be treated lightly under any circumstances. Even if fabricated, such threats amount to terror propaganda, psychological warfare, and sedition, intended to create fear among indigenous populations, destabilise a sensitive border state, and test the preparedness and response of Indian security agencies,” the CoMSO wrote.
CoMSO chairman Roy Kumar Synrem and general secretary Balkarin Ch. Marak pointed out that the Garo Hills region of Meghalaya is the ancestral homeland of the Garo people, whose rights over land, culture, and identity are protected under the Constitution of India and established legal frameworks.
“Any demand for their displacement amounts to a threat of ethnic cleansing, which the Indian State is duty-bound to prevent decisively,” the organisation wrote.
Other organisations and activists called for the implementation of the Inner Line Permit (a temporary travel document for visitors to Meghalaya), the removal of dual voters, a separate electoral roll for the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council, and the National Register of Citizens in the State. These, they asserted, would ensure more security for the indigenous communities.
Published – January 30, 2026 03:21 am IST
