New extremist group in Assam worrisome for Meghalaya villagers: Regional party MLA

SHILLONG: A new extremist group in Assam has made the border villages in Meghalaya uneasy, claimed a regional party MLA in the state assembly. Nujorki Sungoh, an MLA for the United Democratic Party who spoke to the 60 members of the Meghalaya Assembly on Friday, said that the United People's Front of Karbi Longri (UPFKL) was founded a few months ago and that this outfit could cause problems for the residents of Meghalaya who live in a contentious area along the Assam border.

The West Karbi Anglong district of Assam is bordered by the disputed region, and the UPFKL is an organisation that avowedly supports the goals of the Karbi tribal people. Two members of the group were detained by the Assam Police in July, and weapons, including two pistols, hand grenades, and extortion notes, were found on them. The two were reportedly residents of a village in Block-I, one of the six still-unresolved contested sectors along the 885-kilometre

Assam-Meghalaya boundary. Sungoh asserted that the "history of intimidation" by parties from Assam gives the Khasi-Pnar tribal people of Meghalaya cause for concern regarding the UPFKL. He gave examples of villages that had to leave their homes in the past on the Meghalaya side of the boundary.

He expressed his hope that the government would pay attention to the new threat and not let the locals down. Meanwhile, the Meghalaya government, according to Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma, has not yet received any intelligence information or any complaints regarding the new Karbi extremist group. "However, we are not dismissing the development. For the defence and safety of our people, we'll make sure there are enough security arrangements," he said. (IANS)

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