Four HNLC, ULFA-I rebels arrested in Meghalaya

Four rebels of the Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) and the United Liberation Front of Asom - Independent (ULFA-I), were arrested late Friday night with weapons and explosives, police said on Saturday.

"The rebels were nabbed from Pynursla while they were proceeding towards their hideouts in Bangladesh after they failed to carry out a bomb blast in Shillong, the state capital of Meghalaya," M.Kharkrang, the district police chief of East Khasi Hills, told.

Among the four rebels, Kharkrang said the Special Operation Team also nabbed a senior ULFA-I rebel Bikhat Ahom of Assam's Bongaigaon area.

Ahom is a bomb expert and is wanted by Assam police for several bombings and other criminal activities in Assam.

"The arrest of the four rebels is a major catch for us since they were planning to carry out terror attacks in the city," Kharkrang said.

The Special Operation Team commandos seized two rifles, pistols and cache of improvised explosive device weighing around 10 kg each from the vehicle in which they were travelling.

"We are interrogating the four arrested rebels to find out if they had hidden more bombs and about their associates in Shillong," the police officer said.

The HNLC is a secessionist group fighting for a sovereign Khasi homeland in eastern part of Meghalaya.