Shillong, Jan 28 (Inditop.com) Nine members of the outlawed Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC), a Khasi separatist outfit demanding a sovereign Khasi homeland in Meghalaya, have been arrested, police said here Thursday.
“Acting on a tip off, police arrested the nine insurgents of the banned HNLC outfit during a raid in Parmodan village in the West Khasi Hills district in central Meghalaya Wednesday,” district police chief M Kharkrang told reporters.
The police official said: “The apprehended extremists include Alex Hahshah, the self-styled area commander of the HNLC. We had been looking for the most dreaded rebel leader for the past six years as he was involved in a number of violent acts.”
Shops and business establishment were closed in the Khasi-Jaintia region in central and eastern Meghalaya Tuesday in response to a 24-hour shutdown call given by the HNLC, which along with other militant outfits of the northeast region had called for a boycott of the Republic day celebrations.
Formed in 1995, the HNLC has been demanding a sovereign Khasi homeland in Meghalaya. More than 180 cadres of the outfit have surrendered so far.
Meghalaya Chief Minister D.D. Lapang last month had appealed to top HNLC leaders to come to the negotiation table and join the mainstream.
“The Meghalaya government has also offered a safe passage to the HNLC militants,” a senior police official said.
However, in a statement issued in Shillong earlier this month, HNLC publicity secretary Sainkupar Nongtraw said the outfit was keen to come forward for talks only if the government shows its seriousness rather than make “mere publicity messages”.
“If the government is sincere for peace talks, it should show its seriousness in discussing the political demands of the organisation, which include a separate Khasi homeland,” the HNLC statement had said, rejecting the chief minister’s offer for talks.
According to the police official, the HNLC is closely linked to the Isak-Muivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland and the National Liberation Front of Tripura.
