SHILLONG: At least 15 to 20 HNLC cadres are still camping in Bangladesh and police expect that they may also come over ground in the days to come following the example of HNLC general secretary Cheristerfield Thangkhiew, who surrendered before Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong on October 18.
DGP R P Agarwal on Saturday termed it as a positive sign and added that the HNLC militants were not active for the last many years due to the constant vigil of the police.
According to official sources, the HNLC militants have some weapons but are not being able to surrender with arms as they may be caught while moving out of Bangladesh.
The surrender of Thangkhiew comes more than 10 years after the chairman of HNLC Julius Dorphang came over ground.
According to police, a few of the remaining cadres are under the control of HNLC commander-in-chief Bobby Marwein.
Tynsong, while speaking at the surrender ceremony on Friday, had said it would herald the era of permanent peace in Meghalaya.
A founding member of the Hynniewtrep Achik Liberation Council in 1987, Cheristerfield or Bah Che held the post of general secretary when it was re-christened in 1997.
When Cheristerfield was asked about the number of killings involving his cadres, he said he had “no regrets” since he knew what he was doing.
“Even now I am not regretting leaving the outfit since there are some valid grounds,” he said, adding that he has taken retirement from HNLC.
Blaming Congress
Cheristerfield also castigated the Congress saying it was here from the formation of the Indian Union and the problem of insurgency “is not restricted to Meghalaya or the northeastern region but even in Jammu and Kashmir”.
“It is not the BJP or the NPP who has created this problem. The INC should be solely held responsible for the present turmoil in the country,” he had said.
Cheristerfield also claimed that he had several telephonic talks with the then Home Minister Roshan Warjri to ensure that peaceful dialogues take place and rued that it did not fructify even as he had expressed his willingness to be a negotiator between the existing HNLC leadership and the government.
