GUWAHATI: The Meghalaya Police on Monday retrieved three INSAS rifles, which were snatched by the masked miscreants from three cops during the August 15 violence in Shillong, from a river.
Two days ago, an anonymous letter sent to a media house had stated the weapons were tossed into the Umkhrah river. The Meghalaya Fire and Emergency Services carried out a search in the river based on this disclosure.
A vernacular daily had reported about the letter, which was addressed to the chieftain of Mawlai Town Dorbar with copies sent to the local Superintendent of Police and media houses.
Initially, the police did not take the letter seriously. The SP, Sylvester Nongtnger, had told mediapersons that "anyone can write an unsigned letter like that."
According to the letter, the weapons were tossed into the river from a bridge on the day the violence broke out in protest against the killing of a former insurgent leader by the police in an alleged fake encounter.
The unidentified protestors had snatched away a police vehicle along with the weapons and moved around localities, brandishing the guns before setting the vehicle on fire.
The authorities had suspended three police personnel, who had lost the weapons, and appealed to the miscreants to return the weapons. The state government is currently initiating an inquiry against the suspended cops.
"For a policeman, the arms and the weapons they carry are as good as the parts of their body. They should never ever let go of their weapon," Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma had stated after the incident.
The manner in which the miscreants moved about in the car holding the weapons and black flags had drawn criticism with some describing it as a Taliban-like act.