TURA:
The ongoing tussle for supremacy between the ruling NPP in the GHADC and the protesting Garo groups over the democratically-elected Chief Executive Member, Rakesh A Sangma, has reached a stage where an unknown person claiming to be the chief of a never-heard-before militant group has warned Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma and the CEM of dire consequences.
Police are sceptical of the claims by the unknown individual, who on Wednesday evening put up a social media post claiming to be the president of a group called the `United A’chik National Laberation Army Force’ in which he warned of attack on the chief minister and the CEM if they go ahead with their decision to run the council under Rakesh A Sangma.
Police are not buying into these claims given that social media is rife with fake posts and groups.
“This is the first time we are ever hearing of such a group in Garo Hills. But, we have taken the social media post seriously and already an investigation has been launched to identify the person behind it,” said a senior police official from Garo Hills when contacted by The Meghalayan.
The fact that the self-styled rebel leader going by the name of Rakga Marak called himself president instead of chairman or commander-in-chief, as is the norm among militant groups, has raised doubts on the authenticity of the individual.
To make matters worse, the “rebel” leader even misspelt the name of his own organisation mentioning “Liberation” as “Laberation” Army Force bringing humour among many social media users.
“Preliminary inspection of the post seems to show that even the photo has been taken from the internet from another place and individual,” a police source said.
But not everyone is going by the police story as concerns are being raised about the situation going from bad to worse unless some positive steps are taken.
Garo Hills has a history of criminals using names of rebel groups to make their demands look powerful and many groups with fancy names were ultimately found to be a bunch of petty criminals out to make a fast buck.
Despite the inglorious history of such groups, the recent flare up in the Garo Hills District Council is a worrying sign that frustration is making way for verbal threats which, if unchecked and not rectified, could move into something more sinister and dangerous.