TURA: In a major security lapse, unidentified persons set ablaze eight vehicles inside the compound of the 2nd MLP battalion headquarters at Goeragre, 13 km from Tura, close to midnight on Monday.
The brazen attack has sent shockwaves in the security establishment of the state, particularly in Garo Hills region where a decades-long insurgency has been taking place.
The attackers targetted the parking lot below the battalion office headquarters where five new police Maruti Gypsy vehicles and three two wheelers were parked for the night.
The parking area is a few metres away from the sentry post located near the main gate. The five police gypsies were completely destroyed. The blaze also destroyed two motorcycles and a scooter, belonging to the battalion personnel, and brought down the CGI roofing of the parking arena.
“This is a very serious issue concerning security and we have ordered a thorough investigation. Preliminary investigation apparently point to an inside job. We are probing all angles,” said Meghalaya Director General of Police Dr. S.B Singh while speaking to The Shillong Times.
The commandant of 2nd MLP battalion, H. Toi, was away in Shillong when the arson took place.
The attack caught the security personnel completely unawares and as the alarm was sounded personnel from the camp reportedly rushed out of their quarters with their service weapons believing it to be a militant attack.
By then the fire had spread to all the parked vehicles.
Fire tenders from Rongram, less than 2 kms away, had to be rushed in to douse the flames by which time it was too late to salvage any of the vehicles.
Questions though are being raised as to how such an incident could occur inside what is presumably a ‘well protected’ institute and one that has been at the forefront of war against insurgents in Garo Hills and the state.
The presence of the night security team guarding the main entry and exit points have also come under scrutiny given that the place of incident was a stone’s throw away from the sentry post located at the main gate.
To make matters worse, the battalion allegedly did not have any CCTV sets operational in the compound in spite of the sensitive situation prevailing in the region due to militancy.
