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 ultras from sneaking into the state.

''We will do our best to thward ULFA from entering the state,'' Mr Rymbai told reporters here.

The state police has been directed to take all steps to flush out ULFA militants from taking ''shelter'' in thestate, he added.

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

The Centre 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 carnage that claimed 66 lives in Asom.

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 along Meghalaya's border to detect ULFA cadres sneaking into the state following the ongoing massive combing operations against them in Asom.

''The operations are 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 in the day.

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 443-km-long border with Bangladesh.

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 and are known as ''ULFA hotbed''. Last year, the state police busted ''ULFA hideout'' at Masuk in West Garo Hills district.

Mr Sangma said, ''We are taking no chances and have put our forces on high alert across the state to prevent sneaking of ULFA militants into and outside Meghalaya.'' In the past, the state police, along with the army, arrested a number of ULFA cadre including its senior leaders, in Garo Hills.

Besides, a huge cache of sophisticated arms and ammunition were seized.

UNI