Meghalaya police on Wednesday arrested 7 members of a newly floated militant outfit – National Liberation Council of Nongkyndong (NLCN) – in the Khasi and Jaintia Hills region.
In a statement, Deputy Inspector General of Police (Eastern Range) Davis NR Marak said credible intelligence input was received by Meghalaya Police that a new militant outfit/terrorist gang called the National Liberation Council of Nongkyndong (NLCN) was being formed in Eastern Range (Khasi and Jaintia Hills region) by the Khasi – Jaintia youths with the intention to wage war against the established government and to commit unlawful activities like procuring of arms and ammunition, extortion, recruiting armed cadres, training of armed cadres, establishing armed terrorist camps and conspiring to commit terrorist acts.
He said the inputs also indicated that NLCN had tied up with other militant outfits of Nagaland and was supposed to send the 1st batch of cadres for armed terrorist training to Nagaland on August 17, 2023.
Marak said an operation was launched and 7 terrorist gang members were arrested from different locations in the Eastern Range and one juvenile terrorist gang member was apprehended from East Khasi Hills.
The arrested persons and the apprehended juvenile include the self-styled chairman, commander-in-chief, general secretary and area commander West Khasi Hills, area commander of Jaintia Hills, recruiter and record keeper and 3 cadres, he said.
Marak also said that the NLCN was being formed in Eastern Range (Khasi and Jaintia Hills region) by the Khasi – Jaintia youths with the intention to wage war against the established government and to commit unlawful activities like procuring of arms and ammunition, extortion, recruiting armed cadres, training of armed cadres, establishing armed terrorist camps and conspiring to commit terrorist acts.
A criminal case has been registered at Crime Branch Police Station, Eastern Range, Shillong, under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
The known locations of these terrorist operatives were search and several incriminating materials including mobile phones and other incriminating documents were recovered from their possession Marak said.
According to him, efforts to arrest the other members of NLCN is ongoing and the investigation of the case is continuing.