TURA: Chairman of United A’chik Liberation Army (UALA), Chiindik Marak has strongly backed the dissolution of the A’chik Mothers’ Association (AMA) some of whose top leaders were arrested by the Tura Police for their involvement in the illegal abduction, confinement and torture of 12 young girls merely on suspicion that they were involved in flesh trade.
It may be reminded that five leaders of AMA- Jaynie Ningring N Sangma, Babyana M Sangma, Merryln D Shira and two others – were arrested by the Tura Police last week for abducting the girls and torturing them while in confinement at a house taken on rent by Jaynie Ningring N Sangma.
The self-styled chairman of the militant outfit said that the inhuman acts committed by the Mothers Association deserved condemnation from all sections of the society, adding that it had brought disgrace to the Garo community as a whole. “If the association members were really working for the welfare of the Garo community they would not have committed such inhuman acts. This is a disgrace to the Garo community,” he said.
On the detention of a pregnant girl who was also among those abducted the militant leader asked if the association leaders would have accepted responsibility if something had happened to the unborn child.
“If they had concrete proof that the girls were involved in flesh trade why weren’t they given to the police? It is the police who have the authority to deal with such matters and they would have acted as per law,” he said adding that being leaders of an organization did not give them the power to take the law into their own hands.
Regarding the statement of one of the victims who claimed that their abductors had threatened to get them killed by the GNLA, Chiindik warned that his outfit would not just sit by and watch if something were to happen to the girls.
“We will not tolerate any action by the GNLA against the girls. We will also take our own course of action against them if they harm the girls,” he said.
Meanwhile, the militant leader also expressed solidarity to the parents and relatives of the tortured victims. He also issued a strong warning that the UALA would take action against organizations which misused their powers and committed such crimes in future.