Tura, Sept 10: A joint counter insurgency operation by West Garo Hills police and CRPF team has led to the unearthing of two live Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) that had been buried underground by criminal groups in far flung Tikrikilla area.
A special counter insurgency unit of SF-10 commandos and soldiers of 120 BN CRPF, Tura headquarter, conducted a search operation at Mengotchigre village under Tikrikilla police station during the dark hours of Thursday night.
The operation was launched on intelligence inputs and source information about hidden bombs in the area.
They were successful in locating the spot where the explosive items were buried. They dug out two live IED bombs along with other explosives and several detonators from underground.
Since the explosives were already prepared for use and could be a danger to civilians and others if transported, the police teams disposed it in the area by safe detonation.
Police are investigating the case to identify the group behind the hidden bombs.
Explosives recovered near highway
A sizeable cache of explosives was recovered by West Garo Hills police from an area that is not far from the national highway in Anogre during a special operation on the intervening night of July 14-15, 2021.
2.25 Kg of Gelatin Sticks (Class-2, Division- 2, Cat- ZZ), 8 non-electric detonators, 8 electric detonators, 10 clippers, 2 cello tapes and approx. 3 meters of safety fuse (Cordtex) were recovered by police from Gabil area. These components for making explosives were found buried near the National Highway.
Long trail of arrests, explosives linked to Garo Hills in recent times
The current trail of IED making components being found scattered around the state seems to have some connection with underground activities in Garo Hills. Apparently, some miscreants are desperately trying to bring back the reign of terror to the region by flouting a new militant out, after police neutralized the notorious militant outfit GNLA few years back.
Everything started with the arrest of two persons in Tura on July 23, 2021, who were planning to form a new militant outfit and to kidnap an unknown person from Tura-Dalu road. During the interrogation, the duo had disclosed that they had kept explosives somewhere in Ri-Bhoi district near Umling in order to prepare improvised explosive device (IED) for causing a blast somewhere in Garo Hills.
Based on this lead, Meghalaya police got together a joint team of police officials from West Garo Hills (WGH) along with Ri Bhoi police, and managed to find the hidden explosives within a week from in Umdu village on Umling-Patharkhmah road under Nongpoh police station on August 1, 2021.
The items recovered included 23 number of 2.875 kg gelatine stick class-2 explosives, 24 non-electric detonators and approximately 9 m safety fuse/cordtex. One person was also arrested on ground of possession of these explosives.
