Altogether 12 insurgent groups from the Northeast including the coordination committee comprising seven militant outfits groups in Manipur have called for a general shut-down on January 26 to bar people of the region from taking part in Republic Day celebrations.
Official sources in Shillong said that the bandh called by the HNLC, which launched an armed revolution demanding a 'separate homeland' for the Khasi tribe in Meghalaya, has affected road services to Shillong from Guwahati and other parts of Assam.
Police informed that a police team led by Deputy Superintendent of Police Raymond Diengdoh cordoned a hideout of the banned Hynnewtrap National Liberation Council at Paham Umdoh village early Wednesday morning. On being surrounded, the ultras opened indiscriminate fire, injuring the DSP seriously. In the ensuing gun battle, one militant was killed while two others were arrested. Rest of the group managed to flee.
The HNLC, which was formed in 1992, has been involved in bloody conflict with police and security forces in pursuant of their demand for a 'sovereign homeland' for Khasi tribe, one of the three major tribal groups in Meghalaya.