Shillong, April 12: Meghalaya police have pieced together tell-tale signs of the proscribed Ulfa’s nexus with the Taliban in Afghanistan and Korean gunrunners following the recent seizure of a large cache of sophisticated weaponry from the outfit’s hideouts at Phulbari in West Garo Hills district.
Police have seized during raids over the past three days “a mini-truckload” of sophisticated weapons, including 96 rocket-propelled grenades, 11 large rockets, eight rocket launchers, 15 anti-tank devices, 680 rounds of 12.76 MMG ammunition, two AK-56 rifles, several rounds of bullets for AK-series rifles, Chinese hand grenades, two wireless sets, 300 grams of RDX and a couple of timing and pressure release devices.
Assam Rifles officials told The Telegraph that the arms recovered in and around Chisikgre and Phulbari in West Garo Hills could be used for a “major devastation”, including blowing up bridges and vital establishments like oil refineries and defence installations. A senior police official said today that investigations are on to determine the “make of the rockets and anti-tank devices”, which could have been procured by the Ulfa from Afghanistan. After the first encounter with the Ulfa on Tuesday in Rongdupara, police had said the Assam outfit might have a possible link with the Taliban.
Police sources are not even ruling out a possible Korean link. “The arms, especially the rockets and MMG ammunition were packed neatly in boxes and were on its way to some destination, maybe in Assam. We cannot say for certain but there are reports that some Korean and Afghan nationals had been seen in and around Gajni recently,” an intelligence official said.
Sources believe that the Ulfa has hidden more consignments of sophisticated arms in Gajni under Sherpur district of Bangladesh. The intelligence official said the outfit’s “lieutenant” Ronju Chowdhury, who is reportedly operating from its camp in Gajni, is supervising the transportation of arms into the Garo hills. There are about 150 Ulfa cadre in the Gajni camp, situated 2 km from Dalu in West Garo Hills district, he added.
Police are planning to send samples of the seized rockets and anti-tank devices to the army’s instrumentation and artillery wing for inspection.
West Garo Hills deputy superintendent of police D.P. Marak, under whose command the raids were being conducted, had said that such sophisticated weapons were not easily available. Marak’s claims were corroborated by other senior police officers, who strongly believed that the Ulfa procured the weapons through some contacts in Afghanistan.
Women cadres: Two women Ulfa activists today alleged that females in the proscribed outfit were being used as “sex objects” by male cadre, reports PTI quoting police sources. The two Ulfa activists, who were arrested after they visited a doctor in Bengenabari area in Sivasagar district, confessed to the police that women members were not given arms training but used only to pander to the sexual needs of Ulfa men.