TURA: Elusive and wanted GNLA chief Sohan D Shira is said to have orchestrated the attack on the police team at Panda reserve forest which led to the death of four police personnel and injury to a constable.
Police sources reveal that a covert operation had been underway in South Garo Hills for quite a while following intelligence reports which indicated the presence of the militant chief in the region.
Special SWAT commando units had been on the ground trying to flush out the militant leader when he suddenly surfaced in Panda and ambushed a travelling police team on Tuesday morning.
The magnitude of the attack and the large number of militants in one place at a time had lent support to the reports that the militant chief was present in the area.
GNLA area commanders seldom venture out with more than a dozen cadres and only the top hierarchy of the organization is known to move with such a large force of armed men.