Garo rebels kill two BSF troopers in Meghalaya

Tribal Garo rebels Friday killed two Border Security Force (BSF) troopers in Meghalaya's South West Hills district, bordering Bangladesh.

Heavily armed rebels of the breakaway faction of the A'chik National Volunteers Council (ANVC-B) attacked the Ketakona Border Outpost in Bagli, killing a trooper, Sashit Biswa, on the spot, BSF spokesman Mahendra Singh said.

Another trooper, Pappu Kumar Yadav, who was airlifted to Guwahati succumbed to his injuries.

Bagli is about 150 km from the state capital Shillong and known to be the heartland of the ANVC-B and the outlawed Garo National Liberation Army which was involved in killing five Meghalaya policemen Tuesday.

"Preliminary investigation indicates the ANVC-B had carried out the attack on our BOP (Border Outpost) and a manhunt is on to nab the killers," Singh told IANS.

He said the rebels also decamped with two INSAS rifles and a wireless handset.

The ANVC-B is a splinter group of the ANVC, which has been observing a tripartite ceasefire with the central and the Meghalaya governments for nine years.

On the other hand, the BSF troopers under the Faqirkona Border Outpost Thursday night recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition from the Angratoli reserve forest near the India-Bangladesh border in Meghalaya's South Garo Hills.

"Our troopers observed that some intruders crossed the international border and were infiltrating into the Indian side. But, when challenged, they took advantage of the darkness and fled from the area," Singh said.

During the search operation, the BSF troopers stumbled on the arms and ammunition - a 9 mm carbine machine, one 7.65 mm Italian-make Beretta pistol, one China-make 7.65 mm pistol, all with ammunition, wireless set with signal booster, two mobile phones, sports shoes and other items - supposedly left behind by the intruders.

"The seized consignment was meant for the rebel outfit operating inside Meghalaya," Singh said.

Meghalaya shares a 443-km border with Bangladesh, part of which is porous, hilly and unfenced and prone to frequent infiltration.