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Armed groups in N-E regrouping, says NGO; police reject claim
In a letter to Meghalaya chief minister Conrad K Sangma, the NEDF said regrouping of armed groups in Meghalaya, and the security situation in the north eastern states are matters of concern
Armed insurgents group are regrouping in the northeast region, including the Garo Hills of Meghalaya, North East Dialogue Forum (NEDF), a northeast-based group dealing with conflict situations and human rights in the region has claimed.
In a letter to Meghalaya chief minister Conrad K Sangma, the NEDF said regrouping of armed groups in Meghalaya, and the security situation in the north eastern states are matters of concern.
The police, however, has debunked the claim and stated that few recent incidents were cases of some locals going astray and trying to make a quick buck.
“We have credible information that armed groups in Garo Hills, Meghalaya, are regrouping and reorganising themselves and that members of such armed groups are moving in many parts of Garo Hills armed with sophisticated weapons,” Dr PBM Basaiawmoit, Consultant NEDF.
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He pointed to the August 1 incident in which Meghalaya Police recovered a cache of explosive materials along the Umling-Patharkhmah Road in Ri Bhoi District bordering Assam as an indicator.
The NEDF warned that with disputes prevailing in almost all bordering areas of Assam with its neighbours i.e; Meghalaya, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and the NSCN (I-M) expressing anguish that the 2015 framework agreement with the Centre not being implemented, violence may erupt in the region again.
However, Meghalaya director general of police R Chandranathan denounced the NEDF claim and said it was just some people out to make quick money.
Even as he confirmed the August 1 haul where police arrested one person and seized 23 gelatine stick class-2 explosives (2.875 kg), 24 non-electric detonators and 9m safety fuse from Umdu village in Ri-Bhoi district, the police chief said, “We are aware of what is going on and from time to time, we succeed, like in the Ri-Bhoi recovery which was part of an ongoing investigation in which two persons were arrested in Tura on July 23.”
Interestingly, during investigation, the arrested persons revealed their plan to use the explosives as improvised explosive devices in Garo Hills.
“We are ever prepared...with so much unemployment and this pandemic, misguided youngsters tend to go astray. They’re just petty criminals who have nothing to do but create mischief. Still, we are not taking anything for granted,” he said.
