TURA: A high-powered sophisticated sniper rifle meant to take out targets from a long distance that was in the hands of the GNLA outfit has been seized by North Garo Hills police on Thursday night following the arrest of one militant.
GNLA militant Griksang Marak alias Chuang was nabbed from Salpara area of Mendipather and he later led police to a hideout in another district where he had concealed three weapons, a China-made sniper rifle along with an AK and a .303 rifle from a hideout.
Police also recovered as many as 160 rounds of ammunition with four magazines meant for the sniper rifle, an AK magazine containing 35 rounds and four .303 calibre bullets. A wireless handset along with a GNLA training manual, two mobile phones, sim cards were also recovered from the hideout.
The militant was taking shelter in the house of a woman collaborator, Gretwila R Marak, in Salpara when police teams swooped in and arrested him. Her brother, Dikrak R Marak has been arrested for harbouring the militant.
“He was trying to pass off as a civilian and taking shelter in the house of the woman when we caught up with him,” said district police chief J F K Marak.
Police teams had to travel as far as West Khasi Hills to retrieve the weapons hidden by the arrested militant.
The arms were buried inside a forest near Rongcheng village of West Khasi Hills some distance from Malangkona.
The arrested GNLA militant , meanwhile, has confessed before police that he was part of a three-member gang that killed four other militants belonging to the ULFA and GNLA before escaping with the arms.
The killing took place on September 12 last.
“He revealed to us that he along with two other cadres had differences with their camp commander and later shot dead four militants before escaping with the three weapons that have all been recovered by us,” said police chief J F K Marak.
The militants killed their superiors in the camp which was located in a remote part of Mangsang area of East Garo Hills close to the border with West Khasi Hills district and dumped the bodies over there itself before decamping with the weapons.
The two ULFA militants who were killed in that fratricidal fight are believed to have been known as Bulbul and Wakang. The latter is said to have been a Bodo.
The two GNLA militants who also died in that attack were camp commander Stil and Mandal, according to the confession by the arrested militant Griksang Marak alias Chuang.
The two accomplices of the arrested militant identified as Darmen and Jagol continue to remain at large. Darmen had earlier worked as a cook for a police Sub-Inspector in Shillong from whom he stole a police issued carbine weapon and fled away to join the GNLA early this year.
