TURA: The banned GNLA has shot dead the cousin brother of its own chairman Champion Sangma for deserting the organization even as it claimed that the killing was ‘accidental’.
A 12-member group of armed GNLA militants led by its action commander Ajan Ch Marak alias Jimmy Momin came down to Asiragre village, 3 kms from Williamnagar, and targeted the home of Servison R Sangma (39 years), first cousin of Champion Sangma.
The militants descended on the village at 7:30 AM. Servison Sangma who was earlier in the GNLA and went by the outfit’s name of Kocheng had surrendered unarmed to Williamanagar police in 2013.
According to police, the militants first tried to forcibly take him away at gunpoint. When Servison resisted the move he was shot by the militant commander Jimmy Momin.
Despite sustaining two bullet injuries he managed to run out to a neighbour’s house where he was pursued by another armed cadre who shot him dead outside the house.
The GNLA was quick to distance itself from the killing blaming unknown individuals for the ‘accidental’ killing.
“GNLA will pursue to the end any cadre who flees from the organization with arms and ammunition but Servison was accidentally killed due to wrong information given by some individuals,” claimed the GNLA in a hurriedly released press statement. Speaking to The Shillong Times, district police chief of East Garo Hills, Davis Nestell R Marak said that it remains unclear as to whether the outfit had sanctioned the murder or the militant commander Jimmy Momin had executed the chairman’s own cousin over personal reasons. “As far as we know Servison R Sangma was released by the GNLA on account of health problems and that was the reason he was freely residing in the village,” said the district police chief.
