‘GNLA faction was in talks with Sohan for extortion in mining area’

TURA: The faction of the Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) whose camp was raided on Wednesday was in talks with Sohan D. Shira to open a finance wing at Nangalbibra, police said.
That the splinter group led by Salman was in talks with the parent GNLA outfit was confirmed from evidence found at the encounter site, said South Garo Hills police chief Anand Mishra. “He (Salman) was in touch with GNLA chief Sohan Shira and was planning to establish a finance unit located at Nangalbibra when we raided the faction’s hideout,” he added.
Police believe that Salman was eyeing profits from coal trade at Nangalbibra and neighbouring Shallang in West Khasi Hills and this prompted him to plan a base at Nangalbibra from where he could expand to the neighbouring district. Coal export from these two mineral-rich areas will commence soon.
While details of the deal between Salman and Sohan were unknown, it is suspected that Salman may have sought to take over the GNLA’s finance mantle or provide a cut of the extortion to the GNLA chief in return for not being hounded by his former outfit.
A Special Force-10 team raided the hideout at Gare Rindi area in South Garo Hills on Wednesday morning and killed a cadre. They had also seized weapons and ammunition and eight sets of demand note pads running into several hundred pages which were meant to be used as extortion notices.
Meanwhile, police said they have identified the militant who died in the encounter as Bukarstar G Momin (24) alias Chenga and Kakal. He was from Dame Apal village in Bajengdoba in North Garo Hills. He belonged to the sixth batch of recruits that passed out from a GNLA training camp.
Following last month’s surrender of the entire finance unit of the GNLA led by its finance secretary Rakkam D Shira, who was soon after executed by a hit squad of the rebel group at his home near Williamnagar, the GNLA has been without a new leader to oversee its extortion. “Both Sohan and Salman needed each other to operate in the lucrative coal region, which is perhaps why they had established a communication link,” said police. Combing operations at Nangalbibra continued even on Thursday and commandoes were hunting for two cadres who escaped from the encounter with bullet wounds.