Shillong, Jan. 30: The Meghalaya government has ruled out deployment of the army in Garo hills in the wake of abduction of two Khasi engineers on January 24 midnight and a spurt in militant activities.
Speaking to reporters today, chief secretary W.M.S. Pariat said at the moment the government was not thinking of deploying the army for counter-insurgency operations in Garo hills.
Besides killings and abductions, there are also reports of rampant extortion by the GNLA in all the three districts of Garo hills and along border areas of West Khasi Hills.
Pariat said: “Whatever is needed to tackle the situation will be carried out by the state government and the existing forces will continue with the operations”. At present, besides the state police personnel and the Special Weapons And Tactics team raised by the Meghalaya police, the select team of CRPF, Combat Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) are also engaged in counter insurgency operations in Garo hills.
Voicing concern over militant activities in Garo Hills, Pariat said the government is having a re-look into the security deployment in Garo hills and added that a process is on to adopt a new strategy to deal with the situation. The official, however, did not disclose the specific nature of the strategy.
He said information suggests that the abducted Khasi engineers were safe in the custody of militants.
Asked about the opinion raised in certain quarters that the Khasi officers posted in Garo hills would be reluctant to work there, Pariat said the government officers have to work in all parts of the state.
The GNLA started targeting government officials with the abduction of East Garo Hills transport officer R. Syngkon in 2010. It released the official after a month after being paid ransom. After the abduction of West Garo Hills BDO P.K. Boro at the end of last year, the GNLA had demanded withdrawal of security forces from the Garo hills.
But under pressure from various quarters, the GNLA released the BDO on December 24 last year.
Now the fresh demand of the GNLA after kidnapping the two Khasi engineers, Bonifance Majaw and Apus Pohthmi, is an improved power scenario in Garo hills.
The chief secretary said the militants have not demanded any ransom for their release.
Pariat said there was no stepmotherly treatment on the part of the government towards Garo hills as far as the distribution of development schemes are concerned. Commenting on the power scenario in Garo Hills, he said the government was giving thrust to improve rural electrification in Garo hills.
Pariat said under the Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY), the rural electrification scheme of the government, the proposal to electrify villages under all the seven districts of the state was submitted to the Centre and the sanction for the first phase was allotted to East Khasi Hills, Jaintia Hills and Ri-Bhoi. In the second phase, sanction was given to the three districts of Garo hills and West Khasi Hills district.
The Shillong-based NGOs have decided to organise a peace march on Thursday demanding the release of the abducted officers. The Federation of Khasi-Jaintia and Garo People (FKJGP) working president Joe Marwein said with the support of other NGOs and the people, the organisation would hold the rally. The Khasi Students Union will also join the march. The Hynniewtrep Welfare Association based in Tura, West Garo Hills, will also organise a peace march tomorrow in protest against the abductions.
Body found: The body of a PWD labourer from West Garo Hills who was “executed” by GNLA was recovered today. He was abducted on Friday.
According to police, the bullet-riddled body of the villager, identified as Songjing Sangma, 36, was recovered from a forest in West Garo Hills. Sangma is from Danga Natong village under Zikzak in West Garo Hills.
On January 16, the GNLA had shot dead two youths, Engti Marak and Pak Momin from East Garo Hills, accusing them of being police informers.
