Police team monitoring GNLA’s black money conversion plan

STAFF CORRESPONDENT

SHILLONG, Dec 3:  The Meghalaya Police’s special team is monitoring suspected individuals who may deposit terror funds of the Garo tiol Liberation Army (GNLA) in the different banks in the five districts of Garo Hills. Around Rs 37 lakh meant for such purpose has been seized in the past few days, besides arresting three individuals who are conduits of the outfit.

“We have rrowed down the mes of the suspects but we will only act at an appropriate moment,” stated a top police officer who handles the special team.

As reported by The Sentinel, the GNLA has acquired around Rs 12-13 crore through extortions and ransom. The money is said to have been stashed with of the family members and close overground aides of the elusive Commander-in-Chief of the GNLA, Sohan D Shira.

Shira has now located himself in East Garo Hills soon after the demonetization process, desperately looking for ways and means to convert the black money in white, stated the police official.  

The GNLA coffer could have been more but the money hidden by the slain Fince Secretary of the outfit is not known, stated a source. In the past one month, five incidents indicated the GNLA attempt to convert black money into white money.

In last November, Meghalaya Police raided the house of the GNLA commander, Sohan D Shira leading to the recovery of Rs 1.5 lakh and 27 bank pass books.  It was followed by the arrest of two suspected to be over-ground workers of the GNLA and were apparently on their way to convert Rs 35 lakh through various means the money that they had with them. Again, police made another arrest of one Simple Ch Momin, suspected to be an over ground worker of GNLA and recovered little over 1 lakh rupees from him.

Two days back, South Garo Hills police arrested one Solly Sangma (33), son of a prominent local musician from Tura son of Garo musician, Lucas Marak along with a lady friend and a courier for channelling extortion money of the GNLA amounting to several lakhs and frozen two bank accounts which had a total of Rs 17 lakh.