Mortar, RPGs among Sohan’s arsenal found in EGH jungle

TURA/ SHILLONG: Two powerful mortars along with rocket propelled grenades and a launcher are among a large cache of weapons recovered from the forests of Dorengkigre village across the Simsang river in Williamnagar on Wednesday morning.
The arms and ammunition were found after an extensive search that was launched following inputs on a large cache of weapons hidden by slain GNLA militant chief Sohan D Shira.
DGP SB Singh appreciated the efforts of the East Garo Hills police for the recovery. He said search and operations will continue for more recoveries.
The police are committed to ensure that there is lasting peace in Garo Hills, he said.
“We had information from reliable sources about the hidden weapons in the forests of Dorengkigre village and we launched a search which led to the recovery of a large number of weapons,” said district police chief RTG Momin.
Among the weapons which stood out for ferocity were two 2-inch mortars used by militaries across nations to devastate large areas with its shelling. Along with the two mortars was a mortar shell.
Since the death of Sohan police have seized three RPGs from different locations but this is the first time two powerful mortars have been recovered.
Another weapon recovered included the RPG launcher with two RPG rockets, a Heckler and Koch 5.56 assault rifle, an AK-47, a land mine detonator cap, 12 pistol magazines, 153 rounds of the HK 5.56mm ammunition, 55 remote bomb circuit, 94 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition, 11 bomb remote controls, a walkie-talkie communication handset and 13 electronic detonators.
Police have identified the recovered AK rifle to be one that belonged to the state force.
“We suspect that the AK rifle belongs to the police department because the model is similar to the ones used by us. It may have been taken away in an ambush and we are yet to confirm in which ambush,” said SP Momin.