Shillong, Oct 13: The proscribed Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) has claimed to have planted the IED as a “symbolic protest” at Umsning in Ri-Bhoi district.
The IED kept in a bag in an unidentified compound at Umsning market was successfully defused by bomb squad personnel.
In a statement issued on Monday, HNLC general secretary Sainkupar Nongtraw said the act was a “symbolic protest” against alleged “betrayal” of the indigenous population by “corrupt politicians and businessmen” in favour of “non‑tribal interests”
The outfit has accused “certain individuals” in political class of sheltering non-tribal settlers, facilitating land transfers, and supporting outside interests, threatening the future of the Hynniewtrep.
Claiming responsibility for planting the IED at Umsning market, the HNLC said political authority must be rooted in the will of the people, not in the favour of outsiders.
Asserting about its “military capability”, the outfit reminded of planting an IED at SP office in 2004, leaving it undetonated. “In 2021, we executed a similar operation at Khliehriat police reserve,” Nongtraw said.
