Meghalaya encounter foiled ULFA mission

SHILLONG, February 23: The encounter between the ULFA and Meghalaya Police in West Garo Hills district yesterday foiled the militant group's mission to loot the Helidayganj branch of the State Bank of India. The district SP, B R Rana said over phone from Tura that the ULFA boys were hiding in a village with a plan to loot the SBI branch. Six militants were killed on the spot and four others arrested in an encounter with the police at Nishanipara village, about 60 kms from Tura around 3.30 pm yesterday. Giving details of the incident, he said, acting on a tip-off, a police team rushed to the village but immediately faced a barrage of fire from the militants. The six ultras were killed in the retaliatory fire by the police. Two of the slain extremists have been identified as Prabodh Barman of Lakhipur and Sibu Hajong of Pipulbari. The others are yet to be identified. A high-level Assam Police team has rushed to Tura for identification of the bodies, now lying at the Tura Civil Hospital. One AK-56 with three magazines, one carbine stengun, a huge quantity of ammunition, ULFA letterhead, newspaper clippings and some receipts have been recovered from the site of the encounter. The police in Garo Hills were on high alert since late December following intelligence reports that an arms shipment was likely to be smuggled in from Bangladesh. 'Our hard work since December last has at last borne fruit,' Rana said. He, however, denied that the ULFA was trying to set up camps in the Garo Hills after packing up from Bhutan in phases.' They probably have only temporary hideouts.'