GNLA militant arrested in North Bengal
TURA/SHILLONG: West Bengal police have arrested a suspected Garo militant with links to a militant outfit following a tip off from Meghalaya on Friday.
The arrested suspect is the son of a prominent local musician from Garo Hills who has also been arrested and sent to jail for allegedly inciting communal links through the use of a social forum website.
West Garo Hills Superintendent of Police (SP) Mukesh Kr Singh informed that Solly Sangma, son of well known Garo musician Lucas Marak, was nabbed from Siliguri town’s Pradhan-nagar locality on Friday.
“He (Solly) is a GNLA cadre involved in criminal intimidation and inciting war against the state,” said Mukesh Singh.
Solly is accused of using his Facebook account and a forum to allegedly incite “anti-national” sentiments.
Lucas Marak was arrested a few weeks ago for allegedly threatening a newsperson in a social website and calling for the boycott of his news. The singer is currently lodged in Tura district jail on judicial custody.
Confirming this, the state police sources on Saturday said that Solly was arrested on Friday night.
During a search operation in his rented house at Salbari under Pradhannagar police station (near Siliguri), laptops, mobiles and some incriminating documents were seized.
He has been staying in a rented house at Salbari under Pradhannagar police station for past one and half months and the militant disguised himself as one of the locals staying with his wife in the rented house.
Siliguri deputy police commissioner OG Pal said following a specific input local police arrested the 21-year-old militant.
The Meghalaya police during production of the arrested militant in local court sought transit remand.
Additional chief judicial magistrate AHM Rahman of the Siliguri court granted the transit remand for the Meghalaya police.
Siliguri, a commercial town of north Bengal, surrounded by three international borders of Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan has become safe haven for militants operating in the North-East.
Several ULFA and Manipur insurgents were arrested from this area, but a Meghalaya’s militant arrest was first of its kind. (With inputs from UNI)