From Our Correspondent
Guwahati:The coordination between the anti-talks faction f United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) and Meghalaya’s Garo Hills based terror outfit Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) has become a cause of concern for security forces operating against insurgents in Assam.
According to security forces, ULFA leaders, hiding in shelter provided by GLNLA in Garo Hills, have been coordinating the outfit’s extortion operation in Assam’s western districts targeting officials of Rural Development department posted in blocks as well as officials from Transport and Food and Civil Supplies department. The outfit is using linkmen to collect the money from extortion targets that are contacted over phone by ULFA leaders based in Garo hills.
The ULFA’s coordination with GNLA is strategic given that it facilitates leaders of the outfit to take shelter with GNLA in Garo Hills areas where Army can’t launch any operation given that Meghalaya has not been declared a disturbed area. Moreover, presence in Garo Hills areas provides the ULFA ultra with an escape route to Bangladesh crossing the border there.
Assam Police is now looking for much better coordination with Meghalaya police to launch a very effective assault on ULFA-GNLA nexus in Garo Hills areas even as a senior Assam Police official in the rank of Additional Director General has been put in charge to coordinate operation against the ULFA in western Assam districts of Goalpara and Dhubri bordering Garo Hills areas in Meghalaya.
Meanwhile, a DIG has been put in charge to coordinate a combined assault by police, Army and paramilitary forces against militants belonging to Karbi People’s Liberation Tiger (KPLT) based in Karbi Anglong hills district of Assam. The KPLT which too has coordination with the anti-talks faction of the ULFA is on an extortion spree in parts of Karbi Anglong, Golaghat and Nagaon districts of Assam. The newly-formed KPLT is suspected to be getting help from the ULFA hawks.