Police evidence points to GNLA hand in abduction, outfit distances itself
TURA: A day after the abduction of police head constable Khomraj Bhattarai from a public vehicle travelling through a remote area of North Garo Hills Meghalaya police have arrested three persons connected to the banned GNLA for abetting the crime even as the armed rebel group has distanced itself from the incident.
Following Friday’s arrest of Ronangbill Marak and Lukash R Marak from Dilma Mongpanggro village, another suspect and GNLA collaborator identified as Wellknown was picked up from Soksan area, 8 kms from the kidnapping site, on Saturday.
The accused were previously arrested for working with the banned outfit and had recently been out on bail, informed North Garo Hills district police chief Ramesh Singh.
“We have evidence of his involvement with the GNLA in the kidnapping of Havildar Bhattarai,” said Singh.
Police teams have been continuing their ongoing search operation in the North Garo Hills district including the bordering areas of East Garo Hills to locate the missing policeman with no success till Saturday evening.
There is concern within police (circles that the militants may have already executed the unarmed and off-duty policeman who was returning to join duty at Songsak police station after a month long visit to his family in Shillong.
Police sources indicate that GNLA commander Rakban D Shira aka Piliport ordered the execution of the unarmed policeman and the trigger was pulled by a cadre identified as Tengrak.
“We are getting reports about the killing of the constable but until and unless we recover the body we cannot say anything,” said police officials.
With the heat on the outfit for the abduction and possible execution of Havildar Bhattarai, the GNLA’s joint publicity secretary going by the pseudo name of Garo Mandei Marak has issued a statement to the media on Saturday distancing itself from the incident.
“There are hundreds of different criminal groups and gangs operating within different regions of Garo Hills that are involved and responsible for abduction, extortion, dacoity and murder. Neither GNLA or our Commander in Chief Sohan D Shira has directed or is responsible for the abduction of the battalion constable and the other civilian,” stated Garo Mandei Marak.
Claiming that all operational issues are discussed by Sohan with his ‘military affairs committee’ the GNLA stated that “Meghalaya police should at least think ten times and investigate the matter thoroughly before holding responsible to any individual or groups.”
He added that the GNLA has ample opportunities to abduct or execute police personnel who come to visit their family and loved ones in the remote villages.
“But GNLA never tried to bring any harm to those police personnel either to their families without any reasons,” said Garo Mandei Marak.
Meghalaya police are not buying into the claims of the rebel group and recall that the outfit had issued an order to its cadres shortly after their joint publicity secretary Savio Marak was shot dead that the group would not spare policemen coming home during the holidays.
Second victim handyman: The civilian from Krishnai area of Dudhnoi who was taken captive along with battalion head constable Khomraj Bhattarai has been identified as the handyman of the vehicle who happened to be behind the wheel when the GNLA militants stopped them at Tapa Darengchi area on the Mendipather- Songsak road on Friday morning.
When the public transport vehicle left Krishnai town in Assam during the early morning hours, the driver is learnt to have allowed his handyman to drive the vehicle while he sat back.
The militants, presuming the man behind the wheel to be the driver, took him captive along with the policeman.
It is learnt that on the ill-fated day, the winger vehicle was plying on the Krishnai-Mendipather-Songsak road for the first time whereas it normally used to travel from Krishnai to Williamnagar via Rongjeng town.