TURA: A senior GNLA militant was killed in an early morning raid on the outfit’s camp inside the forests of the Chitmang hills in South Garo Hills on Tuesday. It was suspected that rebel chief Sohan D. Shira was hiding in the camp.
The raid was launched around 6.30am after intelligence reports indicated presence of Sohan and a large number of heavily armed cadres in the Chitmang-Rongsu-Banagittim area of the southern district.
SF-10 commandos of the state police, along with district police teams, spotted the hideout and were approaching the camp when they came under heavy gunfire from rebel sentries. The gun battle lasted not more than 15 minutes in which the cadre, identified as Ading Ch Marak, was killed. The other rebels managed to escape. A search of the camp area led to the recovery of the body and an AK-56 assault rifle. A GNLA identity card helped the security team identify the body.
Marak was part of the 6th batch of recruits who underwent arms training in the jungles of Garo Hills a few years ago.
Meghalaya police are optimistic that the deceased is the same militant who went by the name of Lukseng Ch Marak, a senior rebel who happened to be one of the personal bodyguards of Sohan. He hailed from the same village of Chachatgre near Williamnagar as Sohan.
Among other things seized from the camp are ammunition, magazines, mobile phones, remote controls and detonators, a laptop, GNLA seals and flags along with other documents.
The State police have thrown a dragnet along neighbouring West Khasi Hills and South Garo Hills to try and catch the fleeing militants.
According to the police, this is the second successful operation in recent weeks.
In an earlier operation that took place on June 9, two GNLA rebels were killed and three others injured in an encounter at a place between Agitchak and Jogisil in Shallang area of West Khasi Hills.
Police claimed that due to several setbacks to the outfit following large scale surrenders last year and early this year, Sohan had withdrawn to the forests on the border of South Garo Hills and West Khasi Hills to regroup. Several new recruits were taken in by GNLA.
In the last encounter at Agitchak-Jogisil area, both militants killed were reportedly new recruits. One of the injured who escaped last time was believed to be area commander Nit who, police suspect, may have succumbed to his injuries in the forests.
