By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: Breaking their silence over the lynching of two of their cadres by a mob in Goalpara district of Assam on Friday during a botched up extortion drive, the ANVC-B has termed the killings as cold-blooded murder.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the outfit denied that the slain cadres had been involved in extorting money from villagers on the Assam side of the border adjoining Garo Hills.
The ANVC-B also claimed that the cold-blooded murder of the two cadres was a political conspiracy instigated by the United A’chik Liberation Army (UALA) and executed by the GNU with the blessing of Maoists. “They (cadres) were there not to demand money but to collect information on Maoist intrusion in Garo areas,” ANVC-B publicity secretary Doang Shira claimed.
“UALA is finding it difficult to expand its network due to the presence of ANVC-B cadres who have been successful in ‘influencing’ several UALA cadres to return back to the ANVC-B fold,” Shira said.
The statement further claimed that the ANVC-B cadres had actually gone to one accost one individual by the name of Crieston Momin of Baghmara (Upper Chutipara), who is an arms supplier, UALA adviser and also a Maoist contact in Assam.
According to Shira, the ANVC-B cadres went to the village to ask him to refrain from helping outsiders to set up base in Garo areas and also to stop influencing Garo organisations.
“The ANVC-B cadres also reminded him to return the money which he had borrowed a year before when he was supplying arms to UALA leader Jagring, but he (Momin) raised a false alarm that drew the attention of the mob among whom were certain individuals who had planned the killing,” the statement asserted.
The ANVC-B also appealed to the Assam Government to initiate investigation to unearth the truth behind the killings.