By IANS,
Shillong : Police and paramilitary forces launched combing operations in Meghalaya after five migrant coal miners were gunned down by suspected Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) rebels early Wednesday.
In a pre-dawn attack, eight to nine militants opened indiscriminate fire at a shed, killing the five and injuring one person at Goka in Meghalaya’s South Garo Hills district.
The deceased were identified as Rambadan Yadav, Suhagin, Habibul, Jomin and Noor Mohammad. The injured Rakib Miya has been admitted in Tura Civil Hospital.
Though no militant group has claimed responsibility for the incident, Additional Director General of Police (Law & Order) Rajiv Mehta said: “The GNLA is behind this cowardly attack.”
He said a combing operation had been launched to nab the killers.
“They (miners) have become soft targets for GNLA who are sending extortion notes to coal merchants,” Mehta told IANS by telephone.
The GNLA had earlier slapped demands ranging from Rs.5 lakh to Rs.1 crore on petrol station owners, coal dealers and businessmen in the coal rich districts of Garo Hills.
In November, the tribal Garo outfit killed two migrant coal miners and hurled two grenades at a petrol pump in Pathargittim area after the owners did not heed to their extortion demands.
The GNLA had earlier slapped extortion demands ranging from Rs.5 lakh to Rs.1 crore on petrol pump owners, coal dealers and businessmen in the coal-rich districts of Garo Hills.
The GNLA, headed by police officer-turned-rogue Champion R. Sangma, is fighting for a sovereign “Garoland” in western Meghalaya.