Williamnagar, Jan 26: A substantial cache of arms, ammunition and explosives buried inside a forested area of East Garo Hills was unearthed by district police during a special operation conducted in the early hours of January 25.
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| The recovered arms and ammunition being displayed by the police. |
According to police, the operation was launched around 1:00 am based on credible intelligence inputs. The team, led by the Superintendent of Police and assisted by the Additional Superintendent of Police, district officers and personnel of the Special Operations Team (SOT) of East Garo Hills DEF, Williamnagar, carried out a search in a thick jungle near Dura Bawegre village.
Superintendent of Police S A Rynjah said the weapons and explosives were recovered buried underground and are suspected to have been concealed by members of former militant outfits, including the Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) and the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA).
The seized items include one AK-56 rifle with a magazine, three pistols with two magazines, one double-barrel country-made rifle along with a country-made trigger mechanism, seven delay mechanisms for explosive devices, 99 rounds of AK 7.62 mm live ammunition, four rounds of 7.65 mm live ammunition, 50 electric detonators, and 11 shotgun cartridges. Police also recovered one improvised explosive device (IED) fitted with a digital timer and concealed inside a three-litre pressure cooker, which was later safely defused by the district bomb squad.
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Officials noted that this is the second such recovery of hidden arms and explosives from forested areas in East Garo Hills in the past few months, indicating continued efforts to trace and neutralise remnants of past militant activities.
Following the recovery, a case has been registered at Williamnagar Police Station under Case No. 04/2026, invoking Sections 25(1A) and 25(1B) of the Arms Act and Section 5 of the Explosive Substances Act. Further investigation is underway to identify those responsible for concealing the cache and to ascertain possible links to militant networks.
