'Nature of operations against Ulfa may change after Chetia's return'

GUWAHATI: The unified command in the state will review the nature of its ongoing operations against Ulfa-I, the anti-talks faction of the rebel outfit led by Paresh Baruah, after Anup Chetia's repatriation to India from Bangladesh.

On the other hand, Assam Police stepped up pressure on Baruah's last surviving field commander, Drishti Rajkhowa, to join the Arabinda Rajkhowa-led pro-talks faction. The Assam Police DGP on Monday said that Drishti Rajkhowa ordered the grenade blast that injured 15 persons in the city on Sunday.

"Our counter-insurgency operation will continue on existing lines for now but we may have to change them after Anup Chetia is brought here. He is the key leader of the outfit and his statements will be crucial for us. We will interrogate him after he comes and whatever information he gives us will be matched with the information we have and, then, we may have to change the line of the operation," a security source said.

Chetia, who is the founder general secretary of the outfit and currently in protective custody in a Bangladesh jail, recently gave up his appeal in a Bangladesh high court seeking political asylum and wants to return home. Chetia was the mastermind behind making Ulfa a powerful militant outfit, and both Baruah and Rajkhowa want him on their side. The Centre also wants Chetia to join the peace talks.

The source said, "Pinning the blame for the blast on Drishti is part of the strategy to mount pressure on him to switch sides. There were inputs about Drishti's presence in Mehndipathar in Garo Hills a few weeks ago, but he was untraceable there. Assam Police have been making a huge effort to break Drishti and lure him to the pro-talks faction."

Drishti Rajkjhowa, whose actual name is Monoj Rabha, is from the Rabha community in Goalpara district. He is very popular among the Rabha people and is the last armed wing 'commander' of the outfit, and has survived waves of surrenders and counter-insurgency operations. Known to be a master disguiser, Drishti shuttles between Bangladesh and the neighbouring Garo Hills in Meghalaya that border the state in the southwestern region. He is so elusive that security and intelligence agencies do not even have any recent photograph of him.

"If Drishti can be coerced to leave anti-talks faction, it will be the biggest blow to Paresh Baruah and it will weaken him like never before," the source said.

Factional clashes among militant outfits a cause of security concern in Manipur

Factional clashes among militant outfits are a cause of security concern in Manipur. Recently, unidentified armed militants launched an attack on a vehicle carrying the 'home secretary' of the Kuki Liberation Army (KLA) Saikhohao and his family.

On July 13, Saikhohao, along with his family, was on his way back from Imphal to his home in Saikul village. While Seikhohao died on the spot, his two year old daughter succumbed to her injuries the next day. Two others were also injured in the ambush.

"This type of brutal killing is inhumane in nature and is completely condemnable and as the speaker of the Kuki Inpi Manipur, I strongly condemn this type of action against him and any other persons in Manipur," said H Azhang Khongsai, Speaker, Kuki Inpi Manipur

While no one has taken responsibility for the incident till now, rival Kuki cadres are suspected to be behind the attack. Kuki militant outfits often engage in factional fights, which result in bloodshed.

"This incident has happened at a time when they are under the suspension of operation. So this is very unfortunate and I am not happy with it," Chungkham Haokip, President, Kuki Inpi.

KLA is the armed wing of the Kuki Liberation Organization (KLO) and the group is a signatory to the ongoing Suspension of Operation with the government. Over 20 Kuki militant groups operating in Manipur have signed tripartite agreement with the state and the Centre.

GNLA commander killed in Meghalaya

A three-hour gunfight between security forces and Garo rebels Friday ended after a Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) commander was killed in Meghalaya.

Acting on a tip off, security forces raided Basamgre village in the East Garo Hill district, about 300 km west of Shillong.

The gun battle began when the militants fired at the security forces. Area commander Pilon M. Sangma was killed, district police chief J.F.K. Marak told IANS.

Pilon was wanted in several cases of murder, kidnapping and extortion in Garo Hills. Police said his killing was a major setback to the outfit.

An AK-47 rifle, three magazines with 148 rounds of live ammunition, one US-made .45 Colt pistol with 17 rounds of ammunition, a grenade and a high frequency wireless set were recovered from the site.

Sohan D. Shira, military wing chief of GNLA, has threatened retaliation.

"If our GNLA cadres are killed in this way, then from now onwards all those people travelling in vehicles will also meet the same fate. This will happen very shortly," Shira told Alva B. Sangma, editor of a Garo weekly Achik Songbad.

Meanwhile, Meghalaya Police has sounded a security alert in Garo Hills following the GNLA's threat, while the SWAT and CoBRA commandos continue combing operations to track down more rebels.

The GNLA, one of five Garo rebel groups fighting for a separate "Garoland" in western Meghalaya, is headed by police officer-turned-rogue Champion R. Sangma.

Sangma is presently lodged in Shillong jail after being arrested from the India-Bangladesh border last year.

Over 40 people, including security personnel, have been killed, and more than 10 people were abducted for ransom by GNLA in the last three years.

Arms and ammunition seized in Meghalaya

Shillong, July 19 : Security forces Thursday arrested a gunrunner with a cache of arms meant to be delivered to the outlawed Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA), a police official said.

The illegal arms and ammunition were smuggled out from Nagaland's Dimapur district via Assam, the official said.

"Acting on a tip-off, we intercepted a vehicle loaded with weapons and seized three rifles ofthe AK series, four Under Barrel Grenade Launchers and rifle ammunition of different calibre from a vehicle at Chinabat area," East Garo Hills district police chief J.F.K. Marak told IANS.

Chinabat area in Meghalaya's East Garo Hills district is about 300 km west of Shillong, the state capital.

The arrested gunrunner has been identified as Beet Sangma of Dimapur, the main commercial town in Nagaland, bordering Assam's Golaghat district, Marak said.

Marak, however, said that two other gunrunners whom Sangma identified as Taklu and Kari Ao, escaped from the spot on seeing the security forces.

Security forces have launched a manhunt to nab the two absconding gunrunners.

In recent months, Assam Police have seized a huge consignment of arms and ammunition, including rocket launchers, shells and foreign-made pistols, which were brought from Dimapur via Assam to Garo Hills, meant to be delivered to the outlawed GNLA rebel outfit.

The GNLA, one of five Garo rebel groups fighting for a separate "Garoland" in western Meghalaya, is headed by police officer-turned-rogue Champion R. Sangma.

Sangma is presently lodged in Shillong jail after he was arrested from the India-Bangladesh border last year.

Arrested rebel escapes from Meghalaya hospital, two cops held

A top leader of the outlawed Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) escaped Wednesday from a hospital where he was admitted and two policemen who were supposed to keep an eye on him were arrested, police said.

Phyrnai Swer, a former Meghalaya constable-turned-lieutenant of the HNLC, escaped from the North East Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences Wednesday morning, a police official said.

A massive manhunt has been launched to recapture the rebel.

"We have arrested armed branch constables Meytush Sangma and Sanborlang Shylla for facilitating the escape of Phyrnai Swer from the hospital," Mariahom Kharkrang, the district police chief of East Khasi Hills, told IANS.

He said the duo will be presented before a court Thursday. "We are interrogating the constables and we hope they will spill the beans," Kharkrang said.

Phyrnai was arrested Jan 24 from his wife's residence at Iawmusiang in Jowai town after he sneaked into India from Bangladesh.

Before joining the HNLC, Phyrnai was the chairman of a Meghalaya-based Retrieval Indigenous United Front outfit. He was arrested with all his other founding members.

The Khasi outfit is fighting for a sovereign Hynniewtrep homeland in the eastern part of Meghalaya.

The HNLC stages hit-and-run operations from hideouts in Bangladesh. Meghalaya shares a 443-km border with Bangladesh, part of which is porous, hilly and unfenced and thus prone to infiltration.

45 Manipur militants rejoin the mainstream

Altogether 45 tribal militants, members of the United Tribal Liberation Army (SK Thadou group), surrendered their weapons on Wednesday after signing an accord with the Union and Manipur governments.

The homecoming ceremony was held at Jiribam in Imphal east district. About 42 weapons — including AK 47, AK 56 and M-16 rifles — were recovered along with assorted guns and pistols.

The Union government was represented by Shambu Singh, Joint Secretary of the Union Home Ministry, while Suresh Babu (Principal Secretary Home Ministry) was present on behalf of the Manipur government.

This is the 19th underground organisation to rejoin the mainstream since 2008. For the time being, they will be lodged in the camp of a security force and shifted once a designated camp is constructed.

Top militant leader arrested for extortion

A top militant leader was arrested today when he came to receive extortion money from a petrol pump personnel while his accomplice managed to excape at Jiribam town here in East district, official sources said.

Self-styled general secretary of United Tribal Liberation Army (UTLA) Seinio Guite alias James Kuki (29), who had on July 13 last hurled a grenade at the petrol pump demanding payment of Rs 10 lakh, was arrested when he came to collect the money from pump personnel, they said.

Police arrested him along with a small arm, sources said adding that another UTLA man escaped.

Meanwhile, an army major (name withheld) of 22nd Assam Rifles battalion came to the police station along with some para military forces, reports from the border town said adding that the para military forces demanded immediate release of Guite on the ground that they were to surrender to Assam Rifles soon.

They also damaged partly the gate of police station, reports said but police officers of the station refused to hand over the UTLA leader since he was arrested with arm.

There was some argument between the two forces, reports said adding an FIR has been lodged with the police station against the particular army officer.

Garo rebels, security forces exchange fire in Meghalaya

A fierce gun-battle broke out between Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) rebels and security forces Sunday in Meghalaya's South Garo Hills, police said.

Two GNLA rebels were reportedly injured in the about an-hour-long exchange of fire at Agreng village, sparked off when security forces retaliated after coming under fire from hiding militants.

"The gunfight lasted for an hour and the rebels retreated back into the jungle after intensive firing from security forces," district police chief Davies R. Marak told IANS.

Marak said that at least two rebels are believed to have been injured in the attack. "The search operation is still on to trace those injured rebels," he said.

Three AK rifles magazines loaded with several rounds of live ammunition, and other several rounds of live ammunition of .22, .32 and 9 mm, one grenade and incriminating documents besides four AK rifles replicas were recovered from the site.

The GNLA, one of five Garo rebel groups fighting for a separate 'Garoland' in the western area of Meghalaya, is headed by police officer-turned-rogue Champion R. Sangma.

Sangma is presently lodged in Shillong jail after he was arrested from India-Bangladesh border last year.

The GNLA, which has over 100 rebels, including a few women cadres, operating in East Garo Hills, West Garo Hills and South Garo Hills, has been declared a terrorist outfit.

Over 40 people, including security personnel, have been killed while more than 10 people were abducted for ransom by GNLA rebels in the last three years.

NDFB prefers China over more autonomy

Kokrajhar, July 15 : The National Democratic Front of Boroland (Progressive) today chose existence as a special administrative region of China rather than accepting the Centre’s move to give more powers to autonomous councils.

Resenting the fact that Bodos and other indigenous people living within the proposed Bodoland area were yet to get full-fledged political autonomy, a press statement issued by the outfit’s publicity secretary, S. Sanjarang, said it would be better for these communities to be a part of a special administrative region in China “if the government of India has only decided to provide more powers to the existing autonomous councils of the region”.

Special administrative regions (SARs) are territories that are not part of mainland China but fall within the sovereignty of the People’s Republic. The two current SARs, Hong Kong and Macau, enjoy a high level of administrative autonomy.

Sanjarang also asked why did the Centre think only about the economic status of tribal people and not their political status? Why had it failed to identify with the legitimate demand for Bodoland? “Why is there constitutional injustice to the Bodos and other tribal people? Is it because the Bodos and other tribal people of the Northeast are of non-Indian origin? Is the political discrimination based on their Mongoloid origin?”

He said they had come across a news item about home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde telling a delegation about the Centre’s plan to give more power to autonomous councils to uplift the socio-economic status of Scheduled Tribes of the Northeast.

Sanjarang said though the past two decades saw formation of the Bodoland Autonomous Council, and its upgrade to the Bodoland Territorial Council, these were only economic solutions, as these councils never ensured total political autonomy for the Bodos. “The Bodo people’s movement was for asserting their political rights. Historically, they were independent and so they want self-rule without interference,” he added, demanding that the Centre should take a bold step and declare formation of Bodoland in the forthcoming session of Parliament.

The NDFB leader said the Bodos had always respected the national flag and the Constitution. “Since the Constitution is the guardian of each and every citizen of India, it should provide equal political status to the Bodos and other tribal people of the Northeast,” he said.

BTC chief Hagrama Mohilary, however, said the Centre had no current plans to create separate states but was, instead, planning “to give more power to Sixth Schedule councils for development of these areas, like direct funding and more economic packages”.

He said given the present scenario and policy of the Centre, Bodoland might not be possible in the immediate future, but he did not rule out the possibility of it (the state) becoming a reality one day.

Rebel leader, baby killed

Imphal, July 15 : A Kuki militant leader and his two-and-a-half-year-old daughter were killed when suspected rival Kuki rebels ambushed the vehicle in which he was travelling with his family yesterday.

Police said Marvin Kuki, self-styled home secretary of the Kuki Liberation Army, was travelling in a car with his family when members of a rival group ambushed the vehicle at Pukhao Ahallup in Imphal East yesterday afternoon.

While Marvin died on the spot, his daughter Zoukim, a five-year-old boy, Haominglun, who is a relative of the family, and his driver Thangminlen Khongsai, 24, were wounded. His wife Mansonel, 27, who was also in the car, was not injured in the attack.

Zoukim died in a hospital here early this morning.

Sources said Marvin was returning to his home at Saikul in Senapati district, about 40km from this town, after a visit to Churachandpur district and was travelling along the foothill road at Pukhao when his car was ambushed.

No outfit, however, has claimed responsibility for the attack and though central forces and the police had launched a search operation around the ambush spot yesterday, no arrests have been made yet.

The police said a rival Kuki militant group could be behind the attack and the motive could be inter-group rivalry. “We strongly believe that one of the Kuki militant groups could be behind the attack. We will discuss the matter very seriously in the next meeting of the joint monitoring group,” an official source said.

More than 20 Kuki militant groups have signed suspension of operation agreements with the Centre and the state government under two umbrella bodies — Kuki National Organisation and United Peoples Front. Kuki Liberation Army is one of signatories.

Though the cadres of these outfits stay in designated camps, the leaders are allowed to visit their homes and even stay there, official sources said.

Some of the surrendered cadres of the Kuki Liberation Army are also undergoing training by the Haflong-based 22 Sector Assam Rifles in electrical work, welding, auto repairs and computer basics.

Guards, rebels exchange fire

Kuki outfit denies involvement in incident Commandos take position during the fire exchange with militants at Kangpokpi in Manipur’s Senapati district on Tuesday.

Imphal, July 2: The security personnel of works minister Kh. Ratankumar and Opposition MLA Nemcha Kipgen exchanged fire with cadres of Kuki National Front (KNF), while the duo were touring Kangpokpi in Senapati district today.

Police said the exchange of fire lasted for about 10 minutes. However, no one was injured in the encounter.

Cadres of the outfit, which has a suspension of operations agreement with the government, stay at a designated camp at Natheljang, not very far from the incident site.

Ratankumar said his security escorts informed him that they fired in the air on seeing some armed militants on a nearby hill. “Our security escorts fired on seeing some militants as a precaution and warning. It is very unfortunate that such incidents took place during a minister’s tour,” he said.

Police said the militants returned fire and after the incident, the team turned back from the area. Ratankumar and Kipgen were touring the latter’s constituency of Kangpokpi to inspect development activities in the Kuki-dominated area, about 45km from Imphal.

The police said the team was passing Parsaial Nepali Basti, 2km from the Imphal-Dimapur highway, when the security escorts saw around six armed militants in camouflage attire climbing down a hill.

“As the convoy was moving along the road, some militants were seen on the hills and suddenly firing broke out. We could not say whether the militants fired back or not as everyone was taking position,” a member of the minister’s team said.

However, the outfit denied firing at the minister’s convoy. “Our boys did not fire a single shot. The minister and MLA’s security personnel fired to scare our boys, who were coming to our camp,” Rohan, a KNF leader and member of the suspension of operation joint monitoring group, said.

He said four armed cadres were returning to the camp after picking up four other cadres who went out of the camp last night without any permission, when the security escorts saw them and opened fire. “We tender an apology for the unfortunate incident to the minister, MLA and state government,” he added.

The works minister toured the area following an assurance given by Kipgen during the ongoing Assembly session that he would pay a visit to Kangpokpi to inspect the progress of ongoing projects, official sources said. O. Henry, a social worker from here, accompanied the minister.

Nearly 50 Manipur Rifles men and police personnel, led by additional superintendent of police, Kangpokpi, Md Jakiruddin Ahamed, were escorting the minister and MLA’s team, which also comprised engineers of the public works department.

Despite the firing, the minister continued his tour and inspected a government high school and the condition of roads and bridges in Kangpokpi area.

Ratankumar said he was visiting the area to see the condition of roads and bridges as the government was focusing on development in the five hill districts.