Insurgency / Meghalaya

SHILLONG, January 30: The banned Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) has criticised the operation of the Meghalaya police in which the area commander of the outfit was arrested on January 24, reports UNI. The outfit in a release here on Sunday said the arrested youth was not its member and criticised the police for arresting about 80 "Hynniewtrep youths" from different parts of the State capital two days before the Republic Day. The release said the "random arrest was a revenge by the police as they could not catch the real members of the outfit." The outfit denied that Rs 90,000...

SHILLONG, January 27: Meghalaya chief secretary J.P. Singh today said the two companies of Border Security Force and three additional companies of CRPF, requisitioned by the government recently, would stay as long as their services were required. The BSF and CRPF companies had been specially requisitioned by the government "to assist" the state police in maintaining law and order during the Republic Day celebrations. "We are happy to see that the Republic Day celebrations passed off peacefully despite protests by the militants," Singh said. The chief secretary said it was beneficial to be...

SHILLONG, January 24: Armed to the teeth and wearing bullet-proof vests and headgear, two companies of Border Security Force personnel filed into this capital town today to "assist" the police in maintaining law and order in the run-up to Republic Day. BSF personnel are involved in counter-insurgency operations in Assam, Manipur and Tripura, but it is the first time they have been requisitioned for law and order duty here. BSF deputy inspector-general (Meghalaya) Ashok Kumar said the frontier guards had been deployed at the state administration's request. The police requested both the BSF and...

SHILLONG, January 20: It was not sympathy but stringent criticism that was heaped on the state police at a high-level meeting held to review the situation after the HNLC attack on a police beat house here yesterday. Three persons, including two policemen and a driver of a requisitioned vehicle, died in the incident. Meghalaya chief minister E.K. Mawlong blasted top police officials and demanded action and results. His government is already facing flak on the spate of killings with no tangible counteraction. The meeting, held at the Pinewood hotel, was attended by Mawlong, chief secretary J.P...

TURA, January 18: The West Garo Hills police have achieved another success by busting a large extortion racket of the People's Liberation Front-Meghalaya, (PLF-M) with the arrest of a senior cadre of the outfit from Dalu area on Monday evening. Acting on a tip-off, the Dalu police raided the house of one Chapalsing Marak of Upper Bamunpara, under Dalu police station, on Monday evening and recovered from his possession one country-made pistol, ten rounds of live AR-47 ammunition and ten extortion letters, each demanding a sum of Rs 2 lakh from all the major coal exporters located mostly in...

SHILLONG, January 18: Union Joint Home Secretary, in-charge of Northeast Gopal Krishna Pillai on Wednesday said the Centre had sent feelers to the banned HNLC and ANVC and was awaiting positive response from them, reports UNI. Talking to reporters here on Wednesday evening after holding talks with senior bureaucrats and police officials, Pillai said the Government of India "will always welcome the ultras for talks since dialogue only brings peace". He, however, warned that antisocial activities would not be tolerated. Terming the HNLC as "half militant and half criminals", Pillai admitted that...

SHILLONG, January 16: Meghalaya government on Monday announced ex-gratia of Rs 1 lakh to the next of kin of those killed and Rs 20,000 to those injured in insurgency-related violence, report agencies. Finance Minister AH Scott told a press conference after a Cabinet meeting that it was decided that the ex-gratia payment would be made with retrospective effect from January 5, when five persons were killed and eight others injured by Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) militants at Dhankheti in the heart of the city. Asked if the government was making progress in calling militants for...