TURA, Dec 12 � Garo Hills police have recovered five rocket propelled grenades (RPGs) from a hideout belonging to slain militant leader Joking G Momin from Soenang village, five kms from Gajingpara locality of Resubelpara sub-division on Saturday night.
Security forces unearthed the five RPGs that were concealed in Soenang village following interrogation of the five militants who were nabbed on Friday morning after the killing of Joking and three other cadres by police at Gajingpara.
Soenang village on the route to Songsak of East Garo Hills is of late becoming a hub for militant activity.
The RPGs are believed to have been taken away from the armoury of the Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) camp by Joking and his associates when they fled to form a break away faction.
RPGs are smuggled in through safe routes from neighbouring Bangladesh and Burma. The ammunition are primarily of Russian or Chinese origin.
Major outfits like the ULFA, NDFB, NSCN and the Manipur based PLA are known to have a considerable number of RPGs in their possession.
Some years ago, NDFB militants in Garo Hills attacked a CRPF camp located at Tikrikilla with RPGs fired from a long distance. The militants, perched on a hillock near Tikrikilla college fired two RPGs into the camp. One fell onto a paddy field and exploded while the other extensively damaged the boundary wall of the paramilitary force.
In 2003, West Garo Hills police unearthed as many as 250 RPGs belonging to the ULFA from a hideout in a remote village under Tikrikilla police station dealing a major blow to the firepower of the Assam based outfit.
