From Our Correspondent
TURA: West Garo Hills Police conducted a daring operation inside North Garo Hills district on Tuesday afternoon and shot dead two militants, including the ‘commander-in-chief’ of a new outfit, and recovered weapons exposing the group’s activities that included kidnappings and extortion.
Special police commandos of the SWAT unit from Tura followed the head of the armed wing of the newly floated A’chik National Unit Force (ANUF) and his area commander who were travelling in a vehicle from Tura to Rari village of Bajengdoba.
Their movement was revealed after one of the members was caught by police in civilian clothes from Ringrey market of Tura on Monday afternoon. Special agents of the State Police caught Roring Sangma alias Gud while he was purchasing betelnut from a shop in Ringrey. They pushed him into a van and took him to the police station for interrogation. He belongs to Majalpara village. He was sent to Tura to purchase food items and make camouflage uniforms for the cadres of the outfit. He also confessed that the outfit had plans to kidnap a businessman from Rari village.
Based on his confession, police teams fanned out to different parts of Tura and managed to arrest Bilchang R Sangma alias Racheng of Rongrekgre village and Impu B Marak alias Bijoy Marak of Rongchandalgre village. Racheng was the western commander of the militant group.
On Tuesday afternoon, alert police personnel in plain clothes spotted the ‘commander-in-chief’ of the outfit and the ‘eastern area commander’ board a vehicle in Tura that was heading towards Bajengdoba.
Seeing the militants head out of Tura, SWAT commandos followed the vehicle and also alerted their colleagues in North Garo Hills district to prepare to stop the ultras from heading into the jungle.
The two militants who were both carrying weapons concealed in a bag got off at Rari on National Highway 51 and were walking towards the village when the SWAT commandos reached the spot and ordered them to surrender.
“The militants responded with automatic gunfire and a heavy exchange began for several long minutes as the ANUF ‘commander-in-chief’ Waiston Marak alias Way returned fire with an AK-81 automatic rifle,” informed West Garo Hills SP Mukesh Kr Singh.
In the ensuing gun battle Waistone was shot dead along with the ‘area commander’ identified as Jakriel Sangma alias Rocky. Waistone was from Dabongre village while Rocky belonged to Dimakgre village.
Police have seized the AK-81 rifle and a revolver with several rounds of live ammunition of both weapons along with incriminating documents of the militant group.
“The AK-81 was given on loan by the Ranjan Daimary faction of the NDFB. The arrested militants have also revealed to us that they had plans to buy new weapons and a sum of Rs 1.5 lakh had been kept aside for the same,” informed SP Mukesh Singh.
He also revealed that the same outfit was behind the kidnapping of Bolaram Sharma (78) who was the accountant of the cashew manufacturing unit of Phulbari on July 15 last. The accountant was kidnapped at Bamondanga village of Tikrikilla.
The police chief also informed that the kidnapping of businessman Abdul Aziz of Chibinang in the beginning of this month was the handiwork of the ANUF.
Champion’s arrest to have no bearing on GNLA activities: Pariat
The State Government is of the opinion that the arrest of GNLA chairman Champion R Sangma would not have any bearings on the activities of the outfit.
“Champion has not been in the fore front for quite some time. He was not a part and parcel of the active wing of the outfit since he had been in exile,” Chief Secretary WMS Pariat said on Tuesday.
“We would be in a better position to assess the situation in the next few weeks,” he said.
When asked about the action against politicians whom Champion had named during his interrogation, the Chief Secretary said the matter would have to be verified.
“We cannot take Champion’s statement as ‘gospel truth’. We have to verify his statement considering that he is a chairman of a militant outfit,” Pariat said.