Shillong, Aug 9: A gang of armed miscreants allegedly from Bangladesh launched a violent attack in South West Khasi Hills district, assaulting and stabbing a man near the international border on the wee hours of Friday.
According to police sources, at around 1 a.m. on Friday, a group of about nine Bangladeshi nationals allegedly armed with weapons including a gun was crossing the border into Meghalaya illegally. The incident took place in Rongdongai village under the Nongjri–Nonghyllam area near the international border.
The Bangladesh gang allegedly assaulted and stabbed the victim, identified as Balsrang A. Marak, possibly after he tried to block their movement.
Following the attack, the miscreants fled the scene.
Police sources said that although the gang managed to escape from the immediate area, but they have not yet crossed back into Bangladesh. Villagers reported spotting some them in the vicinity later in the morning, but did not immediately suspect they were the armed gangs.
Police source also informed that the assailants could be members of a criminal gang operating with the involvement of Bangladeshi police personnel, as authorities recovered an identity card belonging to the Bangladesh police from the scene.
The source strongly suspect that the gang entered Meghalaya with the intention of abducting locals for ransom, given the sophisticated preparations and equipment they carried including a firearm, walkie-talkies and chargers.
Villagers also recovered several items abandoned by the attackers, such as the Bangladesh police ID and Bangladeshi currency, which have been seized by the police as evidence.
