SHILLONG:
Terrorists triggering violence has almost become the order of the day
in Garo Hills, and so the focus is now on this insurgency-ravaged region
of Meghalaya.
The Centre has rushed 10 companies of additional
paramilitary forces to assist the state police to contain the situation
in this region.
The Centre will dispatch five more companies
of paramilitary forces soon to the Garo Hills, chief minister Mukul
Sangma said even as he expressed gratitude to the Centre for having
responded positively to the request of the state by promptly dispatching
central security forces.
Sangma, however, stressed on
strengthening the state's police force to tackle rising terrorism in the
Garo Hills. Underscoring that strengthening of the police force and
creation of a Special Force-10 to tackle insurgency was under way,
Sangma said several schemes for gainful employment of the youth so that
they are not lured into militancy, were also being implemented.
He also said a list of interlocutors to hold dialogues with terror
outfit Garo National Liberation Council (GNLA) has been forwarded to the
central government for the latter's approval. Besides, the government
has also appointed two interlocutors to hold dialogues with splinter
groups, on condition that they abjured violence, the chief minister
said.
Speaking in the assembly last Friday, Sangma said there
were 10 militant outfits in the state. "Some of the outfits have access
to state-of-the-art weapons. However, no definitive information is
available about the number of weapons acquired by each outfit," he
added.
"The major outfits operating in the Garo Hills region
have been demanding a separate Garoland. Mushrooming new outfits are
mostly groups of deserters from ANVC, GNLA, etc, who are engaged in
extortion, kidnapping, etc., with no specific demands or ideology," the
chief minister added.
The chief minister also said the
Assam-based ULFA and NDFB (anti-talks) were also active in the Garo
Hills and were in cohorts with the GNLA. He also said that members of
several outfits in the Garo Hills included those from Assam and even
Bangladesh.
On the other hand, the hunt is on to nab the two
motorbike borne assailants who threw a hand grenade at the Tura police
outpost on Friday. The grenade fell on the rooftop and failed to explode
even as the bikers managed to flee.