GNLA-police encounter on Dalu road, arms recovered
TURA: The primary school teacher Maliram Rabha of Damas, who was kidnapped from his home by three armed men on Tuesday morning, has been released unharmed at Sepikol area of North Garo Hills district.
He was released at around 9 am on Thursday and called up his family members from Sepikol which is not far from the Soksan-Mendipather-Songsak road.
He was reportedly released without any exchange of ransom money, North Garo Hills police informed.
Rabha, a primary school teacher working in Singimari Rabhapara LP school, near Krishnai town in Assam, was taken away from his home in Damas Kaskona by three armed men carrying pistols.
The militants had claimed themselves to be members of A’chik Matgrik Tiger Force (AMTF), a hitherto unknown outfit.
However, North Garo Hills SP J F K Marak revealed that it was the handiwork of GNLA area commander Philliport Shira who used the false name of AMTF to collect ransom money.
The GNLA, on the other hand, has denied any connection to the abduction with its joint publicity secretary Garo Mandai Ch Marak claiming that its members were not involved and accused police of dragging its name into the incident to draw condemnation from NGOs and general public against the organization.
GNLA-police encounter : Meanwhile, West Garo Hills police raided a hideout of suspected GNLA cadres at Rangdapara village, on the Tura-Dalu road, and recovered two hand grenades after a brief encounter on Thursday morning.
According to police, the encounter took place at around 9am when police teams raided the village, 35 kms from Tura, to flush out a group of militants who had taken shelter there.
“There were around 4-5 militants who opened fire on seeing our teams approaching. We returned fire and the ultras fled leaving behind two hand grenades, a battery along with some camouflage uniforms and caps and demand notes of GNLA,” informed SP in-charge B A Sangma.
The officer added that the militants belonged to the command of GNLA leaders Hedeo and Jangjang and were trying to prepare a plan for an IED blast on a potential target travelling through the road when police caught up with the ultras.
The village where the encounter took place is in the interior and 3 kms from the main Tura-Dalu highway.
Two of the militants who were with the group have been identified as Niksrang and Adil, both belonging to the GNLA.