Cops skeptical
TURA: With the entire security apparatus in the State and centre zeroing in on the ASAK outfit for its alleged involvement in the abduction of an Intelligence Bureau official from the central government in remote Rongara region of South Garo Hills on Thursday last, the militant group has spoken out for the first time denying it had any hand in the kidnap saga.
Self-styled area commander of ASAK for Southern region identified as Sengbath Shira called up The Shillong Times office to claim that his organization was ‘innocent’ and blamed cross border criminals for the kidnapping.
“We read in the Garo daily Salantini Janera that ASAK has been blamed for the incident and my name was mentioned as Sengbath Sangma who kidnapped the government officer. Neither I nor my organization had any hand in the incident,” said the ASAK commander who also clarified that he was a Shira and not a Sangma.
When pointed out to the growing evidence stacked up against him and his group by security forces, the militant blamed criminal gangs operating from Bangladesh who have links inside Garo Hills and regularly took Indian citizens hostage into the neighboring country.
A close associate of the militant commander identified as Limpu R Marak arrested from Rongara region by police on Saturday had reportedly named ASAK commander Sengbath as the main person behind the kidnap of the central official.
When this was put across to the ASAK militant he denied it by saying, “We never used a person called Limpu for any work in our organization. He is someone having links with criminals from Bangladesh.”
Security forces, however, are not buying into the ASAK claim of innocence and believe the outfit is trying to wriggle out of the situation due to the seriousness of the matter.
“Now that all attention has been drawn towards their group they are worried about the consequences and are trying to shift the blame to others, despite evidence pointing towards their direction,” informed a police source from Meghalaya.
‘No Govt in Meghalaya’
Concerned over the series of kidnappings and other sorts of violence in the Garo Hills region, Member of Parliament from Tura and former Lok Sabha Speaker P.A. Sangma said there was no government in Meghalaya.
“All I can say is that there is no government in Meghalaya,” Sangma said when questioned by reporters in Shillong about the alleged lawlessness in Garo Hills.
According to Sangma, the Union Home Minister had said in Parliament that Garo Hills has emerged as a region which witnessed the worst law and order situation in the country.
Recently, during the visit of Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju to Shillong, he had termed the Garo Hills situation as disturbing.