From Our Correspondent
Guwahati: Assam Police on Saturday seized a huge consignment of arms and ammunition meant for the outlawed Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA), from a truck at Khetri near Guwahati and subsequently arrested two persons including a GNLA cadre.
Assam Police IGP (Law and Order), L R Bishnoi informed that the arms consignment coming from Dimapur in a truck ( AS 18 C 1181) was intercepted by police at Khetri area on the Highway and recovered one AK 56 assault rifle, one .303 rifle, one .22 rifle, one shot gun, 341 rounds of ammunition of 7.62 SLR ,112 rounds of ammunition of AK 47 rifle and 33 rounds of ammunition of shot gun.
The driver of the truck Probhu Mondal was arrested and he confessed that the arms were meant to be delivered to a GNLA leader at Mendipather in Garo Hills. He said the arms were being brought from Dimapur in Nagaland.
A team of policemen were sent to Mendipathar area in the same truck. On the way at Makhipara under Dudhnoi police station in Goalpara district of Assam one GNLA cadre was found waiting to receive the consignment.
He was arrested along with a Hyundai i10 car. He was identified as Salim Sangma alias Abul Marak.
He confessed to have come to receive the arms on behalf of the outfit’s self-styled commander-in-chief Sohan D Shira.
Arms consignment recipient was GNLA commnader Pilliport
Meanwhile, the large consignment of illegal weapons and ammunition transported from Dimapur was ostensibly meant for an area commander of the Garo outfit, Our Tura Coorespondent adds.
Highly placed police sources have revealed that the area commnader of GNLA for North Garo Hills, Pilliport Marak, was to take charge of the arms consignment coming from Dimapur and later dispatch the same to militant chief Sohan D Shira.
The seizure of arms meant for the banned GNLA outfit is one among many confiscated by security forces in the last few months. Several incidents of arms seizure have previously taken place in neighbouring Assam.
Less than a month ago, security forces in Garo Hills intercepted another arms shipment which had made its way into Garo Hills.
Police seized a Scorpio vehicle which contained three powerful AK rifles including one that had a grenade launcher attached to it.