GNLA chief's 16-yr-old kin held

Security forces in Meghalaya today arrested the 16-year-old brother-in-law of Garo militant leader Sohan D Shira, the commander-in-chief of the Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA), the police said.
Acting on intelligence inputs, Swift Weapons and Tactic (SWAT) commandos of the state police and CoBRA commandos of the CRPF raided Shira's home at Nengmandalgre under Williamnagar police station in East Garo Hills district (RPT East Garo Hills district) in the wee hours today, they said.
The raid was conducted after inputs were received that Chote Ch Momin has been acting as a messenger and a contact point of Shira.
"We have arrested the brother-in-law of Shira for his alleged involvement in aiding the GNLA," a senior police official told PTI.

During the raid, Rs 3,34,100 and some Bangladeshi currency were seized from the boy besides a country-made 9mm pistol, 16 ammunition, 39 detonators and safety fuse wires, the sources said.
Twenty three mobile phones, 34 mobile batteries, five Internet dongles and a satellite phone was also seized from his residence, they said.

After a slew of measures were taken to tighten the noose on GNLA, the militant outfit is luring children in procuring these dangerous items, police said.
GNLA chairman Champion Sangma was arrested in July last year and since then Shira has been operating the organisation.
The GNLA which is fighting for a 'sovereign Garoland' in the Western areas of Meghalaya is one of the militant outfits active in the Garo Hills region in Meghalaya. The outfit has been involved in killing, abduction, extortion, bomb blasts and attacks on Security Forces.