Meghalaya police prepares to thwart ULFA, Rymbai

Shillong, Jan 12 (UNI) Meghalaya Chief Minister J D Rymbai today said the government is fully prepared to meet any eventuality to prevent the Asom-based ULFA sneaking into the state.

''We are prepared to meet any eventuality against the ULFA,'' Mr Rymbai told reporters here.

Mr Rymbai said he has directed the state police to take all steps to flush out the ULFA militants from taking ''shelter'' in the state.

''We will do our best to thwart them from entering our state,'' Mr Rymbai said.

The army, with the back up of Meghalaya police, have intensified the ''Operation Rhino-2'' against the Asom-based ULFA in the state.

The Union government has directed the Meghalaya government to allow the army to enter five kilometers inside the state to flush out ULFA cadres in view of the recent Asom carnage that claimed 66 Hindi-speaking community.

The operations have been launched in state's East and West Garo Hills districts bordering Asom, official sources said.

Security has been beefed up at the entry points between Asom and Meghalaya to detect ULFA cadres sneaking into the state following the ongoing massive combing operations against them in Asom.

''The operations is going on in full-swing and so far we are yet to make a breakthrough,'' state's Deputy Inspector General of Police in-charge Western Range F D Sangma told UNI over phone from Tura here today.

The Union Home Ministry has directed the BSF to keep an extra-vigil to check the movement of people along the Indo-Bangla border.

Meghalaya shares about a 443-km-long border with Bangladesh.

The ULFA has been using Meghalaya's Garo Hills districts as their 'safe sanctuary' to escape from the security forces' dragnets and as their 'transit route' to Bangladesh.

State's West Garo Hills and South Garo Hills share borders with Asom and Bangladesh are known as "ULFA hotbed". Last year, the state police busted ULFA hideout at Masuk in West Garo Hills district.

Mr Sangma said, ''They were taking no chances and have put our forces on high alert across the state to prevent sneaking of ULFA militants into and outside state.'' In the past, the state police, along with the army, arrested and killed a good numbers of ULFA cadres including its senior leaders in Garo Hills. Besides, a huge cache of sophisticated arms and ammunition were seized.

UNI