Meghalaya rebels take 14 lives in a week

Rebels from Meghalaya have gunned down 14 people within a week, the latest being two Border Security Force troopers killed Friday in the South West Khasi Hills.

A group of suspected rebels of the breakaway faction of the A'chik National Volunteers Council (ANVC-B) attacked the Kathakona 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.

The ANVC-B rebels also decamped with two INSAS rifles and a wireless handset from the slain troopers.

"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.

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.

Friday's attack on the BSF troopers came as a surprise for the Meghalaya Police since there were no intelligence inputs on any rebel outfit planning to attack the paramilitary force camp in the South West Khasi Hills.

"Unlike the two incidents (South Garo Hills and Assam's Goalpara districts) where we have intelligence inputs about rebels planning to carry out hit-and-run operations, today's (Friday's) attacks on the BSF was a surprise since there were no alert," a Meghalaya Police official, said on condition of anonymity.

Reacting to the spate of killings, Meghalaya Home Minister Roshan Warjri said: "The government is making efforts to tackle the rebel activities in the Garo Hills."

Though the BSF accused the ANVC-B for the incident, the ANVC-B, a splinter group of the ANVC, which has been observing a tripartite ceasefire with the central and the Meghalaya governments for nine years, accused the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) and the Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) for the killing of the two Indian border guards.

"Last (Thursday) night, an GNLA-ULFA group numbering 10 entered the West Khasi Hills area via Moheskola in a vehicle to cross over to Bangladesh. They also killed two BSF personnel and took away two weapons," ANVC-B spokesman Doang D. Shira said.

He said the GNLA is being backed by foreign elements, ULFA is one of them.

The GNLA, outlawed by the central government, forged an operational alliance with the United Liberation Front of Asom and the National Democratic Front of Bodoland, gaining access to arms and ammunition.

On Diwali night, the United A'chik Liberation Army (UALA) rebels killed seven tribals of the Rabha community and wounded nine others in Gendabari village of Assam's Goalpara district.

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.