TURA: Bodo militants from Assam’s NDFB outfit had planned to set up an extortion racket in the Garo Hills when their hideout was busted by East Garo Hills police on Friday.
The police raid on Tarasin village of Songsak in East Garo Hills led to the killing of an NDFB ultra identified as Koma Boro and recovery of an AK rifle.
The encounter had a major impact on the morale of the militants who fled in different directions to escape the police onslaught.
One of the fleeing Bodo militants, Aita Boro, was caught by an angry mob of villagers at Baringgre village in Rongjeng area, beaten and lynched before police could arrive.
The mastermind of the group and former GNLA commander Grikseng N Sangma alias Rimpu, who had invited the NDFB to operate in the Garo Hills region, tried to flee in a public Tata Winger towards Assam but was successfully intercepted by police at Rongmil outpost of East Garo Hills.
Rimpu was earlier area commander of the GNLA in North Garo Hills and created mayhem abducting people and executing several others. He daringly led a group of GNLA rebels to the main road of the highway near Rari and held a busload of forest personnel from Tripura coming to Tura on excursion hostage for over an hour before returning to the jungle. He was also the prime accused in the cold blooded murder of a village Nokma in Zikzak area.
The rebel commander, who originally hails from Balat area of South West Khasi Hills, later abandoned the outfit and tried to form his own group when police caught up with him. He was only recently out on bail.
Once out from jail, he established a link with two surrendered NDFB militants and began encouraging the group to set up base for extortion in Garo Hills by bringing them over with arms through jungle routes in Damas area of North Garo Hills bordering Assam.
Meanwhile, another member of the same gang who was guiding the NDFB militants into Garo Hills and had escaped the encounter has been arrested by North Garo Hills police on Saturday.