SHILLONG, March 4 � Meghalaya Director General of Police SB Kakati today expressed concern over non-disclosure of weapons by the banned militant organisation - Achik National Volunteer Council (ANVC).
The Garo Hills-based militant outfit entered into a tripartite ceasefire agreement with the State and Central governments in July 2004.
About 70 cadres of the outfit are staying at two designated camps in Samada and Chokpot, Garo Hills, as per the agreement. �Chairman� Dilash R Marak, �commander-in-chief� Jerome Ch Momin and other top leaders of the outfit are however living underground. The ANVC, moreover, has not disclosed the exact number of weapons in its armoury.
�It is a matter of concern that the security agencies don�t know the exact number of weapons the outfit possesses even after six years,� Kakati said.
Security agencies are concerned that some of these �undisclosed� weapons might proliferate into the hands of the ever-increasing outfits formed to extort in Garo Hills.
Moreover, reports of ANVC cadre�s involvement in extortion racket in coal-rich belts of East and West Garo Hills districts have made it all the more important for security agencies to figure out the outfit�s weapons.
�The ANVC has not surrendered before the government as the KNLF did with their arms and ammunition in Assam recently. So it�s difficult to know how many arms are in the camps and how many outside,� the DGP added.
The outfit, meanwhile, is making a strong case that the peace process should begin as it has �not violated� the ground rules of the ceasefire agreement since 2004.
Kakati also acknowledged that intelligence inputs suggest that the ANVC �was not trying to regroup,� as is the case with other NE outfits who take advantage of ceasefire agreements just to regroup.
Meanwhile, Centre�s interlocutor PC Haldar is likely to initiate peace talks with the outfit sometimes next month on its demand for a Garoland Autonomous Council.
