The pre-dawn raid on the house of surrendered militant Cheristerfield Thangkhiew today morning that resulted in his death, was necessary, despite the odd hour, because of the security threats in the run-up to Independence Day, Director General of Police, R Chandranathan, said today.
Police have been criticised by many quarters for the timing of the raid; instead, it has been suggested, police could have summoned Thangkhiew to a police station at a more salubrious time.
Speaking at a press conference hours after Thangkhiew’s death, the DGP said that police operations are carried out only after a lot of preparation and groundwork and not on the basis of anyone’s whims and fancies.
The matter was made more urgent because Thangkhiew was believed by police to have had a role in the August 10 Laitumkhrah blast, with fears that further attacks could come as Independence Day approached.
“The police were investigating a bona fide case where his (Thangkhiew’s) involvement was known. There is incontrovertible evidence against him,” Chandranathan said.
He also informed that there will be further arrests made as the authorities have uncovered the entire set-up and matrix of the outlawed Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC), of which Thangkhiew had been a member until 2018, when he surrendered to police.
The DGP also informed that the HNLC’s current strength comprises 16 cadres in Bangladesh. Around 30 overground workers of the outfit have also been identified by police.
However, he added that the militant group does not always use its own members to carry out its nefarious activities; in fact it does not always use Khasis, for whom the HNLC claims to be fighting for.
“In the recent Khliehriat incident, when we were investigating the case, and the boys were arrested, most of them were HNLC overground cadres but we found that the one who lit the fuse (on the IED) was a drug addict, Ranjit Kumar,” Chandranathan said. “So now they (HNLC) are employing lumpen elements and delinquents like these.”
