TURA: A dreaded dacoit wanted in several criminal cases and who had been on the run for many years has finally been nabbed by West Garo Hills police in Phulbari plains belt region on Friday.
Criminal Sopikul Islam (28) hailing from Nolbari village, near Bolarbita, had been wanted for a string of robberies and attacks in the region. He was the leader of a gang that had conducted several dacoities in Gaptuli area of Phulbari using daggers and country-made weapons to target homes as well as passing vehicles in the area.
The group is wanted for several crimes perpetrated along the Assam-Meghalaya border in the West Garo Hills region. Their modus operandi would be to commit crime on one side of the inter-state border and cross over to the other to avoid police detection.
At the time of his arrest, the gang leader was wanted in three criminal cases under Phulbari and Tikrikilla police stations.
During interrogation, he revealed that the weapons used by them to commit crime are in the possession of his two accomplices who are currently on the run.
The West and South West Garo Hills plains have a history of dacoity incidents perpetrated by gangs who operate from both sides of the border. While West Garo Hills has to face the problem of criminals crossing to and fro from neighbouring Assam, in the South West district gangs from across the international border in Bangladesh target border inhabitants with the help of some locals with criminal antecedents.