The Khasi Students’ Union demanded an independent inquiry into the mysterious death of thousands of fishes, which they claimed was because of the change of colour of river water at Ranikor in South West Khasi Hills district. The president of the union’s Ranikor circle, Marcony Thongni, told reporters here on Monday that the state government should immediately set up an independent inquiry team to find out the cause of the change in river water colour from blue to green since January 5. He said members of the union inspected the site on January 19 and found that thousands of dead fishes were floating in the river. The river at Ranikor is near the India-Bangladesh border in South West Khasi Hills district, about 140km from here. The deaths have become quite common since the first incident in 2010. “We will be compelled to approach an international agency to investigate the matter, which has become a common phenomenon, if the state government fails to heed the demand,” Thongni said.