Businessman with 12 ‘bodyguards’ held outside Meghalaya Secretariat
A search uncovered five air rifles resembling assault weapons, two air pistols, six magazine pouches, two laptops and five walkie-talkies
Shillong: A Shillong businessman claiming to be in the coal trade and his dozen armed escorts were detained on Friday after police intercepted a convoy parked outside the Meghalaya Secretariat.
At around 2.30 pm, police spotted three vehicles outside the Shoppers Stop mall opposite the Secretariat — a red Audi sports car without number plates, a black Mahindra Scorpio (ML-05AF-0309) and a black Toyota Innova (T0922ML7411A). All belonged to Mebanshem Snaitang of Pohkseh, who told police he was a coal businessman.
The convoy, with tinted glasses and a siren on one vehicle, carried 12 men in black fatigues, believed to be Snaitang’s bodyguards. A search uncovered five air rifles resembling assault weapons, two air pistols, six magazine pouches, two laptops, five walkie-talkies and Assam number plates.
“We are looking into all aspects and antecedents of the arrested persons to see how deep it goes,” East Khasi Hills superintendent of police (SP) Vivek Syiem said.
The incident comes against the backdrop of widespread reports that coal continues to be mined, transported and traded illegally in Meghalaya despite the National Green Tribunal (NGT)’s blanket ban in 2014. Over the years, trucks laden with coal have been seized intermittently, but activists and watchdogs allege that a powerful cartel of traders and politicians ensures the clandestine trade flourishes.
