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Meghalaya: Interstate contract killing, ransom network surfaces after 4 killed
At around 4am on Sunday, a Bolero bearing registration number AS-01-FD-2889 approached the checkpoint and was signalled to stop
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Preliminary investigations into Sunday’s police encounter that killed four suspected criminals including a contract killer in East Garo Hills’ Songsak have exposed a possible Assam-Meghalaya contract-killing and ransom network, police said on Monday.
The link surfaced after Assam police identified one of the four men shot dead on Sunday as the alleged gunman involved in the August 23 killing of businessman Abu Syed in Assam’s Damra locality.
The encounter appears to be the culmination of an intelligence-led operation that began in Assam – following Syed’s murder -- where four people were arrested in connection with the Damra murder. They allegedly told investigators that money was given to a contract killer named Alason Marak to kill Syed.
Marak from North Garo Hills was one of the four killed in Sunday’s encounter; the other three were identified as Sustom Rabha, Kalam Ali and Bobidul Islam, all three from Goalpara, according to an East Garo Hills police statement.
The operation, leading to Sunday’s gunfight, began after Meghalaya police received “credible source information regarding the movement of armed miscreants towards Songsak” with an alleged intention to abduct officials from the National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) for ransom, Swapnil Pawar Vasantrao, East Garo Hills superintendent of police, said.
A joint team comprising personnel from the anti-terror squad (ATS), East Garo Hills district police, and Songsak police, established a checkpoint at Songsak Reserve along the Dagal-Songsak Road.
At around 4am on Sunday, a Bolero bearing registration number AS-01-FD-2889 approached the checkpoint and was signalled to stop. “On noticing the police personnel, the occupants opened fire on the police team,” Vasantrao said, adding “The police team immediately responded in self-defence, resulting in a brief exchange of fire.”
Four seriously injured men were found inside the Bolero after the short burst of gunfight ended. They were taken to the Songsak PHC before being referred to Williamnagar Civil hospital, where all four were declared brought dead.
The Assam connection
A Dudhnoi police official familiar with the Damra investigation said Assam police were informed by Meghalaya Police on Sunday morning that Marak had been killed in the encounter.
“We received the information from Meghalaya police in the morning. When we asked who was involved, we learnt that Alason Marak, who was involved in the killing of businessman Abu Syed on August 23, was dead. Along with him, three more had died,” the officer said.
The Damra investigation had already taken a dramatic turn before the Songsak encounter. Four people -- Sabul Islam, Nayab Ali, Azad Ali and Mafidul Islam -- were arrested by Dudhnoi police in connection with Syed’s murder. Sabul was the victim’s brother, Nayab an employee, while Azad and Mafidul were business associates, police said.
The two business associates were arrested on August 26 and allegedly told investigators that they had approached Marak to carry out the killing.
“They met Alason and asked him to kill Abu Syed for ₹2 lakh. They paid ₹1.20 lakh, while ₹80,000 was pending. It can be said that a supari (contract) was given,” the Dudhnoi police officer said, adding that the investigation so far indicated that the Damra incident was business-related.
Dudhnoi SDPO Nupur Ranjan Neog, who was supervising the investigation along with Dudhnoi police station officer-in-charge Bhargav Borbora, subsequently told reporters that Marak was allegedly the contract killer who shot Syed on August 23. Police said the investigation had identified the shooters after questioning the arrested suspects.
The Assam investigation also allegedly identified Islam, Syed’s brother, as the main conspirator, while the two business partners were suspected of arranging the contract killing.
This crucial piece of intelligence was then passed across the state border. Dudhnoi police alerted Meghalaya police that the contract killers involved in the Damra firing were hiding within their jurisdiction, following which Meghalaya police intensified their operations. The interception and encounter in Songsak followed during that ongoing investigation and operation.
The three other men killed alongside Marak have alleged criminal links in Assam. Meghalaya police said Rabha had cases registered across Assam and Meghalaya, including in Dudhnoi, Mendipathar and Dadenggre, involving robbery, abduction, kidnapping and Arms Act offences. Kalam Ali was allegedly connected to a Krishnai police case involving abduction, extortion, assault and wrongful restraint.
Police recovered two factory-made pistols, live and spent ammunition from the Bolero. Vasantrao said the investigation was examining “the circumstances leading to the exchange of fire, the firearms and ammunition recovered, and other relevant evidence”.
The Assam police are expected to seek custody of the recovered firearms for ballistic examination, potentially providing a crucial forensic link between the Damra shooting and the Songsak encounter.
