SHILLONG: The GNLA cadres are moving in two groups, one of which is headed by its leader Sohan D Shira, said a former militant who surrendered to the Border Security Force (BSF) on Friday.
Bhim Bahadur Chetry alias Kancha, who joined the outfit last year and was part of the eighth batch of cadres, told BSF officers that a group of 11 rebels is with Sohan in South Garo Hills and another group of seven is with Drishti Rajkhowa, the ULFA commander in chief in Khasi Hills. In a statement to the media, BSF said Kancha was from Goalpara. The force was “continuously motivating” him to shun violence and join the mainstream.
Around 10 days back, Kancha escaped from the GNLA camp and hid in Nangalbibra forest. A joint team of BSF jawans and state police personnel rescued him during a search operation.
Kancha laid down one factory made shot gun and ammunitions. A few days back, he managed to escape from an encounter site with a Meghalaya police team. But he lost his Barreta 9 mm pistol in the forest. “We need to maintain this pressure so that these cadres are demoralised and forced to leave insurgency. This is the right time to wipe this menace off from the state,” said Sh U K Nayal, DIG BSF.
