SHILLONG, Feb 2: Three more persons were arrested on Wednesday in connection with Sunday’s IED blast at Police Bazar here.
With these, four persons have been arrested in the case so far. A juvenile, who claimed he is the East Khasi Hills district “area commander” of the banned Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC), was arrested within hours of the incident.
After briefing the state Cabinet of the arrests and discussing the law-and-order situation, Chief Minister, Conrad K Sangma told reporters the police arrested all those supporters and sympathisers of the HNLC who were directly involved in the incident.
The CM said people, including those from whom dynamite sticks were procured and the persons who made the IED and planted it were arrested by the police. He said the actual linkage of the persons arrested with the outfit is a matter of investigation.
He said the government will dig deep and get hold of others who could have been a part of the blast.
Earlier, the HNLC stated it had triggered the blast as the commercial establishments were not paying taxes to the group. Sangma reiterated that the government will go hard at the outfit. Nobody, who intends to create fear and terror, will be spared, he asserted.
In a statement, East Khasi Hills Superintendent of Police, Sylvester Nongtnger said the police had made an early breakthrough by arresting an HNLC militant who was involved in the blast.
He said based on inputs received later, three other members of the group were arrested on Wednesday morning. Some explosive items were also recovered, he said.
Police equipped to tackle militancy: Rymbui
Militancy is rearing its ugly head in the state but Home Minister, Lahkmen Rymbui expressed confidence the police are well-equipped to handle such situations. He claimed insurgency is not gaining momentum in the state.
Replying to a query on how the government is planning to enhance security in Shillong, he admitted the police department has some constrains in terms of manpower due to Covid-19 situation. He said more than 900 vacant posts were advertised but could not be filled up due to the pandemic. “We will try to complete the recruitment process within this month,” the Home Minister said, adding that there are another 114 posts lying vacant.
In addition, he said, the Meghalaya Public Service Commission has also conducted the exam for MPS officers and the process of recruitment is on.
“Policing is not a one-day affair but continuous monitoring. The department has to keep track of daily happenings,” he categorically said.
Rymbui dismissed the allegation that the SF-10 personnel were not being utilised properly. He said the government is making use of every available resource to keep the state safe and incident-free.
He expressed concern over the juvenile’s involvement in the blast. He said the discipline of a child lies with the family, home and society and it is high time that parents gave special focus to their children.
He also said that the government and the society will work together to address the challenges. He added that CCTV cameras installed by individuals on their premises have helped the police to identify criminals.