Security agencies believe that major terror attack plans across Northeast and particularly in poll bound Assam might have been averted with the recovery of such a huge cache of explosives.
In one of the biggest explosive haul in the North-East, security forces in Meghalaya for the past two days have unearthed as made as 62 powerful handmade Improvised Explosive Device (IED) from remote insurgency infested Garo hill close to the Indo-Bangladesh border. While 46 IEDs were recovered on on Thursday, 16 more were recovered on Friday even as the security forces busted several camps of northeast militant groups.
Security agencies believe that major terror attack plans across Northeast and particularly in poll bound Assam might have been averted with the recovery of such a huge cache of explosives.
According to Meghalaya police sources, although several camps of the Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) were busted, its commander-in-chief Sohan D Shira had a narrow escape.
On Friday, security forces recovered 16 IEDs at Pathalgre village near the hideout of Shira in remote East Garo hill districts, not too far from the porous Indo-Bangladesh border.
A joint team of Meghalaya's Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) commandos, assisted by the Border Security Force and Central Reserve Police Force, launched a combing operation on Wednesday night to flush out militants from the Durama range, sources added.
"What we have gathered that anticipating police attack on Shira's camp, he ran away leaving behind some of his personal belongings. 16 IEDs planted around the camp to hurt security forces were recovered and defused. On Thursday we busted few camps and recovered 46 IEDs. This is alarming since we have inputs that ULFA (I) cadres were also in these camps with GNLA. Since the Northeast insurgent groups have formed a new front, we have to investigate more into their designs," said GHP Raju, Inspector General of Police (Operations) of Meghalaya Police.
Joint forces of different security agencies operating in Garo hills launched an operation–Hailstorm – 3" to flush out the militants from the area.
But the recovery of as many as 62 IEDs have left the security agencies baffled. They are now looking at larger motive, sources further added.
"We cannot rule out militant group combining together and trying to carry out a series of attack in Assam since polls are nearing. We recently held a joint meeting between Assam and Meghalaya," said Mukesh Sahay, director general of police in Assam.
Sahay also added that although there is no 'specific' terror threat as of now to the ensuing Assam polls, Assam Police is doing its 'homework' on possible designs to disrupt the polls. "Insurgency in down but not out. So we are taking no chances. Militant groups are working jointly now" Sahay added.
Meanwhile, Meghalaya government has already sent a preliminary report about the recovery of huge cache of IEDs in past two days to Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), intelligence sleuths are now trying to piece together if there is a fresh threat to the internal security of the nation on the eastern frontier, military intelligence sources added.
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