GNLA commander gives police the slip

Stockpile of mobile SIM cards recovered lPolice to initiate action against mobile service providers
TURA/SHILLONG:  North Garo Hills police narrowly missed wanted GNLA commander of North Garo Hills, Pilliport D Shira alias Rakban, during an early morning raid on a temporary camp of the armed group at Tapa Chiring on Friday.
Police had reportedly spotted the dreaded commander but could not take him out since he was sitting next to a child outside a house.
A militant sentry also spotted the police team leading to a brief exchange following which the ultras slipped away into the forests.
From the makeshift camp police seized as many as 72 mobile SIM cards of various cellular companies.
Demand notes of GNLA, mobile phones, identity cards and rubber seals of the group were also recovered from the camp.
The seizure of such a large number of active SIM cards revealed that the militants continue to communicate with ease through mobile phones despite a Meghalaya High Court order, last year, which had directed all cellular operators  to clamp down on the bulk sale of SIM cards.
Meanwhile, following the   recovery of 72  SIM cards from the    GNLA camp, Meghalaya police is now set to take legal action against the six mobile service providers in the state.
Indicating this, Meghalaya police PRO GHP Raju sad that the verification system of the mobile service providers in the state was not proper and the service providers were yet to take any initiative to stop the sale of SIM cards  illegally.
He said that police would  take up the matter with the service providers  and accordingly, the Investigation officers will send notices to those  service providers whose SIM cards were found in the GNLA camp.
Meghalaya High Court recently had asked mobile service providers to immediately inform the nearest police station if any of their SIM cards, activated outside the state, are found to be operating in any of the five Garo Hills districts.