From Our Correspondent
TURA: Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) militants attacked the Transport Department check gate at Depa Garat, 7 kms from Dainadubi, in East Garo Hills late Friday night lobbing a grenade and opening indiscriminate firing leading to a brief gunfight with police personnel posted there. No casualties were reported.
The militants attacked the transport check gate at approximately 1:15 am, police informed. They first lobbed a grenade which failed to explode before opening fire from automatic rifles. Police personnel at the gate retaliated forcing the ultras to flee. No one was injured in the brief exchange of fire.
Dainadubi is 20 kms from Mendipather town.
Police later covered the unexploded grenade with sand bags to prevent any explosion and the army unit located at Damra was called in to diffuse the explosive device. GNLA chief’s personal secretary Kakam D Shira informed media houses that the outfit targeted the check gate because of its ‘illegal’ extortion from coal trucks.
“Transport officials and police are collecting Rs 1200 from each empty coal truck that enters from Assam while going to Nangalbibra,” alleged Shira.
He questioned the government’s decision to divert coal trucks to Dainadubi from the Mendipather-Songsak route and urged NGOs including student bodies to raise the issue of corruption by government officials.
“Earlier GREF central force maintained the important roads and bridges in the area but ever since the State Government took control they have neglected the roads and encouraged illegal collection of money,” Shira alleged.
District administration officials, in the meantime, maintain that the check gate was set up to monitor and regulate the plying of coal trucks. They say that road condition deteriorated to a great extend due to overloading by coal laden-trucks and the government was compelled to set up the gate to regulate the movement.
The Mendipather-Songsak road has been damaged to such an extend that trucks, buses and private vehicles have abandoned the road preferring to use the Dainadubi route, claim district officials.