A wanted militant of the banned militant organisation Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) on Thursday surrendered before authorities here, police said.
Cheristerfield Thangkhiew, the self-styled general secretary of the organisation, surrendered before Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong at the police headquarters in the presence of Director General of Police R P Agarwal, among others.
A founding member of the Hynniewtrep Achik Liberation Council in 1987, Cheristerfield held the post of general secretary of the HNLC when it was re-christened in 1997.
Welcoming the peaceful surrender of the militant leader, Tynsong said he was happy to welcome Cheristerfield who has given up arms and militant life to join the mainstream society.
The wanted militant leader fled to Bangladesh in 2004 and resided in that country till his return today, Special Branch SP M Kharkrang told PTI.
The surrender of the general secretary is seen as a major blow to the group which is now left with its 'commander-in-chief' Bobby Marwein.
The group's self-styled chairman Julius Dorphang had surrendered in 2007.
The groups 'army in charge' Bobby Marwien is, however, still at large, official sources said.
Known to be close to Nagaland's NSCN (IM) and Tripura's NLFT, the HNLC is a product of a 1992 split in the Hynniewtrep Achik Liberation Council (HALC), the first militant tribal outfit in Meghalaya.
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