TURA: East Garo Hills police on Friday arrested a six-member gang of killers who abducted a coal labourer for ransom and murdered him in cold blood. The victim’s body was exhumed from a shallow grave the same day.
The victim was targetted by the gang over an old rivalry relating to a financial dealing.
Monsing Sangma of Mejolgre village, under Rongjeng police station in East Garo Hills, was abducted at gunpoint from his home on the night of March 8 and was murdered within two hours.
The criminals did not stop at the murder but even began negotiations with the victim’s family for ransom all along claiming that he was safe and sound.
“We have arrested all six gang members involved in the kidnap and murder case including the group leader,” said East Garo Hills police chief Vivekanand Singh.
According to the district police chief, the gang members are said to have confessed to the crime and also pointed to Gilbirth Sangma being their leader. Gilbirth has also been arrested.
Gilbirth is a wanted criminal with a long history in crime. He is an accused in a bomb attack in Byrnihat town of Ri-Bhoi district in 2015 and had earlier helped the banned GNLA as an overground worker.
Police have seized six dummy guns made to resemble a pistol and also recovered the dagger used in the cold blooded murder.
The other gang members arrested are Rakash Sangma, Seltin Sangma, Toseng Sangma, Bronson Momin and Nisbirth Sangma.
With militancy cases dwindling over recent months petty criminal gangs have been raising their ugly heads trying to fill the vacuum left behind by the militant groups.
Last year three innocent youth from Tura were lured into a village in Kherapara by a similar gang of criminals who claimed to be selling goats.
The gang murdered all three victims and even collected the ransom money before Tura police caught up with them and arrested all the criminals. Police also exhumed the bodies and recovered the money at the time of the arrest of the group.
