Tura, May 21: The state police are closely monitoring attempts by erstwhile insurgent elements to regroup in parts of Garo Hills, Director General of Police (DGP) Idashisha Nongrang said on Thursday even as she clarified that currently there is no indication of large-scale revival of militancy in the region.
The DGP said police have received intelligence inputs suggesting that remnants of former insurgent groups are attempting to reorganise, particularly individuals once linked to support networks that sustained militancy in the region.
“We have been getting inputs that a number of erstwhile insurgent groups, which the police department had been able to contain, are making attempts to regroup,” Nongrang said.
The DGP explained that during the peak of insurgency, militant groups had built support systems and underground networks across parts of the region, some remnants of which still remain.
“That ecosystem has more or less been dismantled, but remnants of that ecosystem are always there,” she said.
Nongrang said while many former members and associates have moved on and rehabilitated into normal occupations, some individuals may still be drawn back towards illegal activities such as extortion, which previously served as a key source of funding for insurgent operations.
“Easy money was one of the main means of sustaining insurgent movements at one point of time,” she said.
Despite the intelligence inputs, Nongrang stressed that Meghalaya Police does not currently foresee any major resurgence of militant activities.
“As of now, we do not really see the likelihood of a large-scale regrouping of these insurgent elements,” she said.
The DGP also highlighted East Garo Hills as an area of particular concern regarding arms and ammunition recoveries.
According to the DGP, individuals historically involved in procuring weapons and ammunition for insurgent outfits were largely concentrated in East Garo Hills, making the district a traditional “comfort zone” for such activities.
“It was only logical that they would keep caches of weapons and ammunition in their areas of comfort,” she said.
While some arms recoveries have also been made in South Garo Hills, Nongrang said the majority of recoveries continue to originate from East Garo Hills.
Police said surveillance and monitoring efforts remain active to ensure any attempts to revive insurgent networks are detected and addressed at an early stage.
