Two women among three killed

TURA: In a barbaric incident that has sent shock waves across the region, suspected GNLA militants attacked a village in Garobadha region, 32 kms from Tura, shooting dead three persons, including two women, on Monday night.

The cold blooded motives of the killers were such that they were shouting and even singing out loud as they went about from one house to another selecting their targets.

At around 1.30 in the night, two armed men walked up to the house of one Ganandra Hajong at Garodoba village, 6 kms from Garobadha, and called out to the inmates. When they failed to open the door the armed men opened fire from AK rifles pumping several rounds into the walls and door of the house. The mother of the house, Sridina A Sangma, who was standing behind the door was hit by a bullet and killed while her 14-year-old daughter Jetika Hajong sustained a bullet injury on her leg.

As the shootings began villagers started shouting and raised an alarm during which time the armed men fled from the scene and went straight to another house where they forced their way in and picked up two boys.

The assailants threatened the youngsters to show the direction to the house belonging to one Anirud Hajong. The miscreants then ordered the family members of Anirud out of the house and shot him dead from close range. Seeing the murder taking place a woman from the house, identified as Chandrabala Hajong (35) tried to fight off the attackers but was shot at and died of her injuries later.

“Eyewitness accounts say that the killers were drunk and had no remorse whatsoever when they attacked the unarmed villagers,” revealed South West Garo Hills district SP R Muthu while speaking to The Shillong Times.

Police allege that the GNLA had demanded Rs 5 lakh each from the families of the two victims sometime ago. The victims had reportedly paid some amount to the armed group but that failed to deter the killers from the gruesome murders.