In November this year, a few days before a dialogue slated to be held between the government of Assam and Meghalaya regarding the border dispute between the two states, six people were killed in police action, five of whom were allegedly trying to smuggle timber from Assam crossing the territorial limits of Meghalaya. The Murkoh village where the violence took place was situated near one of the 12 contested sites in West Jaintia Hills districts of Meghalaya, which both the states claim as their own.?