Arms and ammunition of HNLC seized in Meghalaya

Shillong, Mar 14 (PTI) Arms and ammunition belonging to the outlawed Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) outfit were seized in Meghalaya’s Ri-Bhoi district, police said.

The seizures were made on the basis of information provided by four persons associated with the outfit who were arrested in connection with an IED blast in disputed Punjabi Lane area of Shillong.

“Firearms, gelatin sticks, detonators and ignition fuses, along with flags of the HNLC, were seized in Ri-Bhoi district on Wednesday,” Superintendent of Police Jagpal Dhanoa Singh told PTI.

At least one person was injured in the blast in disputed Punjabi Lane area on Saturday night.

The four accused, who were arrested on Monday, were working as per directions issued by their handlers, belonging to the outfit, based in adjoining Bangladesh, the SP said.

Two others, including a leader of the Hynniewtrep National Youth Front, identified as its disciplinary secretary Tarzan Lymba, were also arrested on Sunday night for their alleged involvement in the IED blast.

Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma had recently assured of taking tough action against the perpetrators of the blast.

“Several people have been arrested and tough action is being taken. We will ensure that those responsible are brought to the book,” he had said.

Sikhs living in the disputed Punjabi Lane, in a recent letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, have alleged that the blast was triggered to derail the negotiation process for shifting the residents from the area and rehabilitating them on municipal land.

Violence had broken out in the area in 2018 after a bus driver was allegedly assaulted by the Sikhs. Curfew was imposed for around a month.

The government had offered to relocate the Sikhs, who were brought to Shillong by the British around 200 years ago for cleaning jobs, to another parcel of land. After initial reluctance, the Sikhs had agreed to the proposed relocation but demanded that the government bear the cost of constructing their houses.