Police and paramilitary forces launched combing operations in Meghalaya after rebels of the outlawed Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) set ablaze a government bus Wednesday.
In a pre-dawn attack, four-five rebels stopped the Meghalaya Transport Corporation bus at Dingrepa area in Meghalaya's North Garo Hills district bordering Assam's Goalpara district before setting it on fire.
The rebels fired several bullets in the air to scare the passengers and directed around 30 passengers, including the driver and the conductor, to alight from the bus before they set it on fire, police said.
The outlawed tribal Garo outfit left a note near the ill-fated bus warning the government of more bloodshed.