SHILLONG, Aug 11: In a startling revelation, a top official has claimed that two weeks prior to the IED blast at Laitumkhrah, the intelligence bureau had passed on information to the state government alerting about a possible HNLC attack in the capital town.
“What happened to that intelligence? Two explosions had already occurred in East Jaintia Hills and once again intelligence came with inputs but there was no action from the Police department?” said the official, considered an expert on insurgency warfare.
Intelligence sources have also confirmed to The Shillong Times that there is definite movement of HNLC cadres in the city and prior to Tuesday’s blast a meeting of the outfit was held in the city and the intel was shared with the state government.
According to the source, since July last the HNLC has upped its activities in the city and some sort of an explosion was also expected but the ‘when’ and ‘where’ was not known.
With two back-to-back improvised explosive device (IED) blasts in the state in a span of a few weeks, insurgency experts believe that the HNLC may have been aided by Harkat-ul-Jihad-al Islami Bangladesh (HuJI-B) or the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) based on Bangladesh soil to carry out the acts of terror.
“It is not the HNLC alone. Some groups from Bangladesh like HUJI or ISI which are very active on the other side of the border must have aided them,” said a top official
“Making an IED is not a difficult task. Videos are available on YouTube but the HNLC is not capable except maybe for one or two cadres,” the official said.
“There is every possibility that they (HNLC) might be taking the help of HUJI or ISI which are active in Bangladesh and they are also training them as they are very good at this,” the official observed.
“There is neither policing nor intelligence, only loot. The Police department has to come up with factual information to instil confidence as the public are not ready to accept any militancy,” the official asserted.
The official pointed out that the terror tactic adopted by the HNLC now is akin to sectarian violence like the fight between Sunnis and Shias in some countries.
“If it is an IED it is sectarian violence to cause injury. Why are they resorting to sectarian weapons? If it is an ambush on a police party it is a different thing but targeting the innocent is a deadly tactic,” the official observed.
Pointing out that the dreaded militant outfit GNLA also carried out IED blasts against the police but not the citizens, the official wondered, “It is a mass weapon not meant for an individual. Why are you against commoners like Islamic terrorists?”
Trying to decode the IED used in the Laitumkhrah blast, the official said that there are three types of IEDs – one operated by a mobile phone, another operated by a TV remote which is common in the Kashmir Valley while the third is detonated by wires.
“Samples collected from the blast site will indicate what materials were used and whether factory made trinitrotoluene (TNT) or gelatin sticks were used. Only a thorough chemical analysis will reveal the fact,” the official said.
Intelligence sources said that preliminary reports suggest that the IED used in the Laitumkhrah blast was a wired one.
They also revealed that the HNLC carried out the IED blasts to show that they are still active.
“The HNLC wants to send a message that the government should consider their offer of peace talks seriously, but their main motive is to start serving extortion notes in the state,” the source said, adding that the outfit had adopted a similar strategy by serving demand notes in East Jaintia Hills, especially Khliehriat, after carrying out the IED blast last month.
Meanwhile former cops who have dealt with HNLC and are now retired or redeployed term the HNLC release circulating via WhatsApp on Tuesday as an attempt by the outfit to prove that they are alive and kicking. They claim that triggering an IED blast does not require many people, but it is also the most effective way of spreading terror amongst the population.
The former cops, who still remain vigilant and have their sources, say that the HNLC today is reduced to about 20 cadres. They claim that HNLC had also attempted a bomb blast with Claymore mines in the past but because they had intelligence inputs they were able to nab the cadres at Pynursla. At that time they had an ULFA militant with them who was an expert at detonating bombs. Claymore they said is a powerful bomb used to blow up vehicles. RDX and a timer are used to trigger a blast. Claymore mines come in from Bangladesh which is the route for all ammunition used by North East insurgents apart from Myanmar.
It may be recalled that four rebels belonging to HNLC and ULFA-I, including Bikhat Ahom, were arrested on May 14, 2016 with weapons and explosives. They were nabbed from Pynursla while they were proceeding towards their hideouts in Bangladesh after a failed bid to carry out a bomb blast in Shillong.
Ahom, a bomb expert, was wanted by Assam Police for bombings and other criminal activities in Assam.
Besides arresting the four cadres, the Special Operation Team had also seized two rifles, pistols and a cache of improvised explosive device weighing around 10 kg each from the vehicle in which they were travelling.
