Shillong Jan 31 PTI A 17-year-old was detained in connection with the blast at Police Bazaar here and a live IED along with some bombs were recovered from his residence Meghalaya Home Minister Lakhmen Rymbui said on Monday A person was also arrested in connection with the blast that took place on Sunday evening at the entrance of one of the shops at Police Bazaar he said The minor had allegedly planted the IED and was tracked apprehended and detained for questioning and his accomplice has been arrested Rymbui told PTI The seized IED and the bombs were later defused by the bomb squad he said The police is leaving no stone unturned to ensure that all those involved in the criminal act are arrested and normalcy is restored in the city the minister said East Khasi Hills district superintendent of police Sylvester Nongtynger said that during inquiry the minor had admitted his involvement in the blast and claimed to be the area commander of banned Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council HNLC in Shillong region On the lead provided by him a crude IED was recovered from the residence of his relatives located at Nongthymmai which was safely defused and duly seized in the presence of independent witnesses the SP said A case was registered in this regard and investigation is on according to the senior police officer Opposition parties have expressed concern at the blast and asked the Meghalaya government to ensure that security in the state is improved at all costs Highly disturbed to hear IED blast at Shillong which not only can upset peace we restored but also retard dev everybody should join in condemning this act of cowardice Govt must act restore their focus Leader of Opposition and senior TMC leader Mukul Sangma said Sangma a former chief minister also lambasted Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma for the law and order situation A blast in the heart of d state capital is very dangerous what is happening Mr SangmaConrad Didnt we handover a peaceful state in 2018 Have you shunted all the dedicated efficient police officers at d cost of peoples interest he added Senior Congress leader Ampareen Lyngdoh tweeted I unequivocally condemn the act of terror committed last evening in Shillong The Meghalaya government has failed to prevent yet another IED explosion and it needs to act swiftly against such acts of cowardice The chief minister had condemned the blast in a tweet last evening Strongly condemned the blast at Police Bazaar Shillong this evening An attempt to disrupt peace and bring harm is nothing but a cowardly act Perpetrators will not be spared We will ensure peace prevails in the state he said PTI JOP KK KK KK

Shillong Aug 23 PTI After getting a tip-off from an anonymous letter the Meghalaya police on Monday recovered three INSAS rifles snatched from a police station by masked men on August 15 during protests against the encounter killing of a former militant leader from a river an official said Unidentified masked men barged into a police outpost in the outskirts of Shillong in the afternoon of Independence day snatched three INSAS rifles hijacked a police SUV and drove it through Mawlai area before burning it down A search was conducted at Umkhrah river as per information provided in an anonymous letter saying where the guns were thrown into the river the official said He said the search was conducted at the exact location and the guns were found The letter addressed to the Mawlai locality chief had claimed that the guns were thrown down the river on the same day they were snatched Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma had urged the persons responsible for snatching the guns to return them Three police personnel from whom the arms were snatched on Independence Day have been suspended and a departmental inquiry is on in this regard Violence broke out in parts of Shillong on August 15 during the funeral of former militant leader Cheristerfield Thangkhiew who was shot dead by the police in an encounter two days earlier Thangkhiew the former self-styled general secretary of the outlawed Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council HNLC was killed when the police raided his home in Shillongs Mawlai area in connection with the recent IED blasts across the state The Meghalaya government has instituted a judicial inquiry to be conducted by Justice retd T Vaiphei the chairperson of the Meghalaya Human Rights Commission into the incident He has been asked to submit his report in three months PTI JOP NN NN

RegionalMeghalaya government willing for peace talksCorrespondent Shillong Aug 20 Publish Date 8202021 10528 PM ISTMeghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Friday reiterated that the government is ready for peace talks with the rebel outfit Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council HNLC provided that all conditions put forth by it are withdrawnWe have already started communicating with them HNLCRather they had approached us also and based on that we had given a verbal communication saying that we are keen for long lasting peace but discussion at the government of India and government of Meghalaya level cannot take place with conditions being put in the first letter that they had sent to us Sangma told reportersAccordingly we had repeatedly informed them that we would want you to not mention those conditions come to the talks unconditionally shun violence and within the constitutional framework of the country we are ready to talk and discuss and that is our stand even today he maintainedThe Chief Minister further informed that about 45 days back in one of his visits to Delhi a detailed meeting was held with the officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs on this issue