Villagers take on militants

Rampant extortion and harassment force reaction

Jorhat, April 22 : The people of Bherbheri, a nondescript village near the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border in Sonitpur district, are so fed up with constant harassment by militants that they have decided to fend for themselves.

They have formed a defence force on their own to tackle the militants, who swo-op down from the hills in adjacent Arunachal Pradesh and indulge in rampant extortion.

At a meeting held recently on the premises of the village Hanuman temple, the villagers decided to stay alert and together in “times of trouble”.

“Frequent harassment by Bodo militants has become a big problem for us. We cannot depend on the security forces since our village is located in a remote area and by the time the security men arrive the militants are gone,” said Chakrapani Upadhyay, a resident of the village.

Sources said the Bodo militants have renewed their drive to distribute extortion notices to petty businessmen in several villages located along the border adjacent to the Sonai-Rupai and Chariduwar reserve forests areas. However, only a few villagers have reported the matter to police fearing a backlash from the militants.

“Most of the victims are paying money to the militants after bargaining. In a few cases, victims pay Rs 50,000, if the demand is for Rs 5 lakh,” B. Topno, another villager, said.

The villagers decided to take on the militants after an extortion notice for Rs 5 lakh was served to Shankar Sahu, a petty businessman of the village, just ahead of Bihu.

Sahu informed the villagers who, in turn, discussed the matter in the village panchayat. Subsequently, a public meeting was held on the Hanuman temple premises and it was decided that the militants’ demand would not be met.

Bherbheri village has a mixed population of Adivasis, Nepalis and a few Hindi-speaking families, settled in the area since several decades now. The total population of the village is around 2,000.

Another villager said the defence force would guard the village during night and checkposts would be erected on the entry and exit points to the village to monitor movement of strangers. “Security personnel do visit our village but since the location of our village is very remote, it is not possible for them to visit our village every day,” he said.

A senior police official in Sonitpur district said there was information of a few persons being served with extortion notices, but it is not confirmed whether the Ranjan Daimary faction of the NDFB had served the notices. “There are several criminal gangs operating under the guise of militants. We are investigating these cases,” the official said.

Sonitpur district has borne the brunt of Bodo militancy in recent times, with several incidents of kidnapping, extortion and killings by militants being reported from different parts of the district.

“The illegal settlers, especially from the Bodo community, who have encroached upon the reserve forest land, are helping the militants. Unless these settlers are evicted, it would not be easy to bring an end to such incidents,” the police official said.