Shillong, Jan 25 (IANS) Two rebels of the outlawed Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) Tuesday were arrested along with two AK-47 rifles and 85 rounds of live ammunition in Meghalaya, police said.
The Khasi militant group has called a 24-hour shutdown starting from 6 p.m. Tuesday in eastern part of Meghalaya against the Republic Day celebrations.
Police said the duo identified – Rilang and Batskhem – arrested from Ladthalaboh area under Jowai police station in Jaintia Hills district.
‘Police nabbed the duo from a roadside at Ladthalaboh area and recovered two AK-47 rifles, four magazines and ammunition,’ O.Passi, the police chief of Jaintia Hills district, told IANS.
Police are questioning the duo about their plans, even as raids were conducted in Shillong to flush out the rebels.
According to intelligence inputs, a group of seven to eight HNLC rebels have infiltrated from Bangladesh with an intention to disrupt the Republic Day celebrations.
The HNLC, which conducts hit-and-run operations from its hideout in Bangladesh, has been demanding a sovereign Khasi homeland in the eastern part of Meghalaya.
Meghalaya shares a 443-km border with Bangladesh, part of it porous, hilly and unfenced, and prone to frequent infiltration.
The Khasi militant outfit is closely linked to he National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) as well as to the Isak-Muivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland and the National Liberation Front of Tripura.
