TURA: After a series of threats by Bangladeshi leaders to capture Northeast India, Islamic terrorist organisations are targeting the region and threatening the indigenous people.
In a chilling escalation of threats, posters purportedly from ISIS-K have emerged in Meghalaya’s West Garo Hills, threatening indigenous Garo tribes to abandon their ancestral lands by 2027 – the latest alarm bell after Bangladesh’s political chaos and inflammatory rhetoric from Dhaka leaders vowing to “capture” India’s Northeast.
The ISIS posters were found on January 28 near Tura Law College and public spots created panic amongst the locals. The English-language warnings zero in on Garo communities in Phubari, Rajabala, Tikrikilla, Sesla, Garobadha, and Turisori – these villages are alongside the volatile Bangladesh border. “Vacate your plots before 2027, or face consequences,” the ISIS posters read, prompting swift police action and heightened fears of jihadist incursions in the peaceful area.
This follows a pattern: Bangladesh’s recent upheaval has fueled radical spillover, echoing prior Islamic groups’ threats in Assam and bold claims by Bangladeshi figures eyeing Northeast territories. Garo Hills, inseparable from India, now stands as the new frontline. In October, people of border villages in Assam’s Dhubri district received SMS threatening them to vacate their lands or face consequences.
The Confederation of Meghalaya Social Organisations (CoMSO) fired off an urgent memorandum to PM Narendra Modi on January 30, demanding NIA-level probes, counter-terror sweeps, border fortifications, and crackdowns on radical networks. Chairman Roykupar Synrem slammed the posters as a direct hit on national security, indigenous rights, and harmony: “Zero tolerance for extremists – arrest, prosecute, protect our land!”
Security forces are mobilising amid rising panic. Developments are pouring in. Meghalaya police has launched an investigation to find out the perpetrators. It should be mentioned that the West Garo Hills district bordering Bangladesh is a major point of cross-border infiltration and other illegal activities. Due to very difficult terrain, complete fencing of the area remains a challenge for the authorities, and Bangladeshi infiltrators take advantage of the adversaries. A number of Bangladeshi infiltrators were captured by security forces in recent days. Locals informed that the Muslim population in the area is also increasing alarmingly, which remains a major security concern.
