Overview

• Police intercepted three vehicles with tinted glass outside the Meghalaya Secretariat on September 5, detaining Mebanshem Snaitang and 12 men dressed in black fatigues.
• Officers seized five air rifles, two air pistols, six magazine pouches, five walkie-talkies, two laptops, a vehicle siren, and Assam number plates from the convoy.
• A local court rejected a three-day police remand request and placed all 13 in judicial custody, with cases to be registered for impersonation, Arms Act violations, and illegal tinted glass.
• Forensic tests will determine the caliber and legal status of the air guns, which police said were each valued at under Rs 10,000.
• Reports portray Snaitang as a budding political aspirant for the Mawhati seat, with alleged links to senior politicians and to jailed HNLC leader Julius Dorphang not confirmed by police.