Meghalaya: Interstate contract killing, ransom network surfaces after 4 killed
At around 4am on Sunday, a Bolero bearing registration number AS-01-FD-2889 approached the checkpoint and was signalled to stop
The police encounter in East Garo Hills, Meghalaya, which resulted in the deaths of four suspected criminals, has revealed a possible contract-killing and ransom network spanning Assam and Meghalaya. The connection was made when Assam police identified one of the men killed as the gunman responsible for the August 23 murder of businessman Abu Syed in Damra, Assam.
The incident appears to be the result of an intelligence-led operation that started in Assam after Syed's murder, where four people were arrested in connection with the crime. They confessed to paying a contract killer, Alason Marak, from North Garo Hills, to carry out the killing. Marak was among the four killed in Sunday’s encounter; the others were Sustom Rabha, Kalam Ali, and Bobidul Islam, all from Goalpara.
The operation to apprehend the suspects began after Meghalaya police received information about armed criminals intending to abduct NHIDCL officials for ransom. A joint team, comprising personnel from the anti-terror squad, East Garo Hills district police, and Songsak police, established a checkpoint at Songsak Reserve along the Dagal-Songsak Road.
Upon approaching the checkpoint, the occupants opened fire on the police team, leading to a brief gunfight. All four men found inside the vehicle were seriously injured and later declared dead at Williamnagar Civil hospital. Assam police had already arrested four individuals in connection with Syed's murder, including Marak, who was killed in the encounter along with the other three men.
The investigation into the Damra incident revealed that the killings were business-related, with Marak identified as the contract killer. The identities of the suspects were established after questioning the arrested individuals. The Assam investigation also implicated Syed's brother, Islam, as the main conspirator, while the business associates were suspected of arranging the contract killing.
The intelligence was shared across the state border, leading to the intensified operations in Meghalaya that eventually resulted in the encounter in Songsak.
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