TURA: Two police personnel from Tura sustained bullet injuries when their team was attacked by ANVC-B militants on Tuesday afternoon during a visit to the outfit’s camp at Edenbari, on the outskirts of Tura, to enquire about missing cadres.
The firing from the militants’ side caught the police team by surprise and two police personnel from Chandmari beat house – Sub-Inspector Starson Sangma and Head Constable Chittaranjan Banai – who were leading the group were hit.
Sub-Inspector Starson was hit on the head when one of the militants fired a shot gun at his direction while Head Constable Banai sustained a hand injury.
Both the injured personnel have been rushed to Tura Civil Hospital for medical treatment and are reported to be out of danger.
“It was completely unprovoked firing by the ANVC-B militants. Our boys had gone to their camp to enquire about missing cadres based on an FIR filed by them when they attacked the police team even though there was no provocation from our side,” informed West Garo Hills Superintendent of Police Mukesh Kr Singh.
According to the district police chief, the ANVC-B had filed a missing report with Tura police on Monday mentioning that some of their cadres were missing with possible abduction by rival outfits.
Based on the FIR, a police team was deputed from Chandmari beat house, under which Edenbari falls, to ascertain details when they were attacked.
Police also said that the visiting team had even briefed the sentry on duty at the camp gate about their reason for the visit and had been cleared to proceed inside.
The attack on the police by the militants is expected to raise further tension in Garo Hills where several outfits are fighting each other for area domination and security forces are having their hands full.
The ANVC-B had earlier informed media houses that three of its cadres, including two women members, had disappeared on New Year eve when they were returning to the camp after shopping. The outfit claimed that the trio could have been possibly kidnapped by rival outfits since neither of them could be traced till date.
Criminal case registered against ANVC-B: West Garo Hills Police are registering a criminal case against ANVC-B cadres for their attack on two unarmed police officials who went to their camp at Edenbari on Tuesday afternoon.
According to Tura police, as many as fifteen cadres attacked the two unsuspecting police personnel when they entered the camp site to follow up on the militant group’s FIR about missing cadres.
“Cases are being registered against the ANVC-B for their attack and attempt to kill unarmed police officers on duty,” said the Tura SP.
The militants inside the camp narrowly escaped a major retaliation since a well armed CRPF team that accompanied the two police officers was stationed outside the militant camp when the attack took place.
The role of the ANVC-B sentry on duty at the main gate of the camp has also been questioned by police given that he was ‘briefed’ about the reasons for the visit by the two unarmed police officers before the attack took place.
Even as the two officers were cleared to enter the camp premises by the sentry as many as 12 to 15 cadres charged them with a few opening fire from country-made shot guns leading to injury on the two policemen.

Police accuse ANVC-B ultras of attempting to destroy crucial evidence

TURA: The ANVC-B camp located at Edenbari area of Tura has been termed by police as illegal since it was not a designated camp endorsed by the government ever since its establishment over a year ago even as security forces accuse the outfit of attempting to destroy crucial evidence after a firing incident on Tuesday afternoon.
The cadres of the ANVC-B outfit abandoned their camp at Edenbari after they shot and injured two police officers who had come to their location to verify claims that three cadres had been kidnapped by rival groups in the last one week.
Police accuse the ANVC-B militants of ‘deliberately’ setting ablaze a section of their camp to destroy evidence relating to the attack on two unarmed police personnel who were in the area to seek details on the whereabouts of their own cadres who had disappeared on New Year eve.
After the attack on the police enquiry team, the cadres disappeared into the nearby forests and before doing so reportedly burnt down a section of the camp housing documents and other evidence.
“The ANVC-B militants burnt down a section of the camp and when our police teams entered the site we found blankets, documents and even tables set ablaze. They were trying to destroy evidence,” informed district police chief Mukesh Kr Singh to The Shillong Times.
Police teams have recovered a single 7.65 pistol with two live rounds and over a dozen dummy (fake) AK rifles alongside home-made cross bows along with several dozen poisoned arrows from the camp.
ANVC-B arsenal strength exposed: The seizure of over a dozen half completed bows and arrows from the main camp of the ANVC-B in Edenbari has raised questions on the fire power of the militant group which has been the most vociferous when it came to highlighting issues before the media.
Tura police have confiscated more than a dozen semi-constructed cross bows made out of motorbike gear levers showcasing the plight of the militant group’s arsenal even as the organization had threatened large scale retaliation against its rivals.
“Apart from a single 7.65 mm pistol with two cartridges the rest of the weapons seized from the ANVC-B camp were bows and arrows that were not even completed in its construction,” informed the Tura SP.