Sleeper cells of the outlawed Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) that were busted by the police in recent times were not of dedicated, or “hi-fi”, cadre committed to the cause but individuals hired to do a particular job.
This was stated by Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma today. Speaking to reporters, he said, “It (sleeper) is just another technically high word for somebody who is not active and was asked to be active again. So, it is not really that they are hi-fi sleeper cells but they are some individuals who are given money and asked to do certain activities.”
According to the CM, the sleepers were individuals who are in one way or the other related to different organisations.
A strong cyber police cell was important in arresting the HNLC members and the state government is continuing to invest to improve its capabilities, Sangma said.
The militant group is even known to use popular messaging app WhatsApp to send extortion demand notes to businesses and others. Being encrypted, it is currently impossible to trace the source of messages sent through WhatsApp but the state government is trying to find ways to pierce the veil.
Sangma said that he has asked the police to invest in this aspect so that the circulation of such extortion notes, that sometimes randomly pop into people’s phones, is stopped.
