By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: The arrested GNLA chairman Champion R Sangma has sought presence of his lawyer during interrogation by police.
“He (Champion) has written a letter to Inspector General (IG) Special Branch to allow his lawyer to be present during interrogation,” Champion’s lawyer Sujit Dey informed here on Monday.
Champion’s counsel would file an RTI to find out all the details regarding pending cases against his client.
“We would like to know in which police station and courts cases against Champion are pending,” he said.
He said another RTI has been filed to find out the service record of the GNLA chairman.
“We need to know whether any show-cause notice was issued to Champion before termination of his services. We would also like to know under what provision his services were terminated,” Dey said.
Champion, a former Deputy Superintendent of Police who co-founded the GNLA in 2010, was arrested on July 30, hours after he was pushed back from Bangladesh.
He was in a jail in Bangladesh and had completed his prison term there before being sent back.
He is wanted by police for masterminding several crimes, including killings and extortion in insurgency-ravaged Garo Hills in western Meghalaya and has been booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
Earlier, it was reported that the GNLA chairman is exploring the possibility of peace talks with the government.
Dey had informed that his client asked him to discuss with the government the possibility of starting talks.
The GNLA, which had been outlawed by the Indian government, forged an operational alliance with the ULFA and the NDFB, which provided it access to sophisticated arms and ammunition, and enabled it to unleash a reign of terror in Garo Hills.
4 GNLA arrested : Meanwhile, BSF personnel on Monday arrested four GNLA rebels along the India-Bangladesh border in Meghalaya.
According to sources, all the four rebels were detained from Borsora area while they were extorting money from a businessman, BSF spokesman Ravi Gandhi said.
The four arrested rebels were identified as B. Marak, Habitson B. Marak, Marchis Sangma and Apching A. Sangma.
Two mobile phones with one Bangladeshi SIM card and some Indian currency were recovered from their possession. The four have been handed over to police.