Nine wounded in Garo Hills blast

Staff Correspondent

Shillong, Jan 9: Nine people were wounded, three of them critically, in a major IED explosion at Williamgar, the district headquarters town of East Garo Hills, on Saturday.

The blast took place at around 1 pm at a wine store in Williamgar market at a time when the area was teeming with people. Today was a market day in the town.

The police blamed the proscribed Garo tiol Liberation Army (GNLA) for the blast.

IGP GHP Raju said that GNLA area commander Ajan Ch Momin alias Jimmy planted the IED in the wine store. "Out of the nine civilians injured, the conditions of three are stated to be critical by the doctors. Among the injured is a woman. They were shifted to Williamgar Civil Hospital and later referred to Tura," Raju said. Immediately after the blast, Williamgar police evacuated the market area and launched a mop-up operation to detect if there were more explosives. Terming the GNLA's attack on civilians as an act of "cowardice and desperation", Meghalaya police said the outfit is "desperate after a series of desertions by its cadres." "Death of Hebel, area commander of GNLA, in the police operation in the month of December had led to large-scale desertions from GNLA and a lot of cadres had surrendered," IGP Raju said.