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North East : Security blanket to mark I Day celebrations

	August 14, 2006

The seven sister states in this strife-torn region are witnessing unprecedented security cover around them following countrywide high alert announced by authorities in the wake of busting of an Islamic plot in London to cause mid-air explosions in 10 British and US aircraft on August 10.



In Assam, militants suspected to be from the banned United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) continued with their ritualistic Independence Day boycott calls and violent activities even as it is engaged in peace talks with the Union Government.



Five policemen were killed when their convoy was ambushed by insurgents in Tinsukia district last week. Official sources said the incident took place when district Superintendent of Police and his Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) were on their way to conduct a counter-insurgency operation at Pengeri in Tinsukia. They were reportedly attacked from three sides by the militants at Ratnipathar on August 11. The attack was preceded by an improvised explosive device blast which blew up the SDPO’s vehicle, killing five personnel and critically injuring one. The SDPO, however, had a narrow escape as he was in the SP’s vehicle which was leading the four-vehicle convoy. Both the SP and the SDPO are reported to be safe.



In another incident, six CRPF personnel were injured in a grenade attack in Sivasagar district a few hours after Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi questioned ULFA’s professed desire to save the peace process from collapsing. Gogoi dismissed ULFA’s claim that it had been exercising restraint for the sake of the peace process. The Chief Minister pointed out that more civilians were killed since ULFA floated the People’s Consultative Group (PCG) in October last year than in the preceding months.





300 militants to surrender on Independence Day



In a significant development which should have given some relief to the authorities, about 300 rebels of the lesser-known Bengali Tiger Force (BTF) announced their decision to lay down arms on the eve of Independence Day. The announcement came after a delegation of the BTF called on Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on August 7.



In the state capital, Guwahati, North East Frontier Railway said all stations had been put on the “highest level of alert” with militants likely to target the rail network in the run-up to Independence Day.



A source said the “threat perception” could be gauged from the security arrangements even at small railway stations. The Army and paramilitary forces have been helping the police sanitise rail tracks criss-crossing through militant-infested areas.

Based on statistics of attacks on trains and rail infrastructure, security arrangements in North Cachar Hills district have been given “top priority”. The source said “jihadi elements” might try to exploit the situation if the government remained focused on ULFA. “They could try to fish in already troubled waters. The serial train blasts in Mumbai proved that jihadi groups can go to extremes.”



Control rooms have been set up to monitor movement of people at railway stations and all trains will be secured by “security caravans” in the form of trolleys or goods trains manned by railway security personnel. They will move ahead of the trains to ensure that explosives that might have been planted on tracks are detected before they explode.



In Meghalaya, security has been beefed up following a 24-hour bandh called by the banned Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) to boycott Independence Day celebrations. The outfit’s spokesman Sainkupar Nongtraw stated in a release that the HNLC was calling the bandh in protest against the “Indian Independence Day celebrations on Hynniewtrep land.”



The state police have taken extra precautions in the wake of the bandh call by the proscribed outfit. Police are conducting random checks on vehicles passing through the city. State Director General of Police William R.Marbaniang said security has been beefed up and the police are prepared to meet any eventuality.



A high alert has also been sounded in the Garo hills, particularly in the areas bordering Assam, following intelligence reports of the presence of ULFA cadres in those areas. Recently, five ULFA rebels were killed in an encounter with police and the Army. Sources said the rebels sneak into Bangladesh through the Garo hills.



In a crackdown against rebels ahead of Independence Day, Manipur police shot dead two hardcore militants in a gun-battle in Imphal East district on August 11. The militants, suspected to be from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), were killed on the spot. The police recovered three AK assault rifles, one lethod bomb firing gun with 12 rounds, one Chinese hand grenade and a large amount of ammunition from the spot. Imphal East Superintendent of Police S. Kailun said the rebels were planning to carry out subversive activities by exploding improvised explosive devices (IED) in the state capital as part of the militants’ call to boycott the Independence Day celebrations in Manipur.



The PLA is the military wing of the Revolutionary People’s Front, a constituent of the Manipur People’s Liberation Front (MPLF), an umbrella body of three major rebel groups. The other two constituents are the United National Liberation Front (UNLF) and the People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak. The MPLF is one of the five rebel groups of the North East that had announced a general strike on Independence Day to boycott the celebrations.

The state government has alerted all security agencies in Manipur in view of the strike call. The measures were further tightened in the twin districts of Imphal after militants attacked a CRPF convoy in Imphal West on August 10 with a grenade. The grenade missed the target and exploded on the road, causing minor injuries to two civilians.



In Tripura, authorities have declared a red alert after an unexpected attack by insurgents on August 8 in Atharomura Hill Range. Four policemen were killed in the attack. Police sources conceded that after a comparative lull in the first part of the year, August 8 attack on a police vehicle came as a big shock. What makes this worrying is that there was no report of any movement by any militant groups in Dhalai district over the past week.



Jolted by the attack, the police have sounded a red alert in the state against any possible disruption of Independence Day celebrations by militants. BSF jawans posted along the border have also been put on red alert to prevent Bangladesh-based militants from sneaking in.





New ULFA camps on Indo-Bhutan border



Four new ULFA training camps have reportedly been sighted on the Indo-Bhutan border in Nalbari district but Delhi is “withholding” information on the location of these hideouts from the Bhutanese government to keep the possibility of talks with the outfit alive.



Intelligence reports have indicated that the camps are close to Samdrup Jhonkar in Bhutan, which was purged of militants groups from the Northeast during a long military operation from December 2003. However, instructions from the Prime Minister’s Office to do everything to bring the ULFA leadership on board for talks have forced the Union Home Ministry to keep mum, a source said.



Union Home Secretary V.K. Duggal said in Delhi on August 8 that the Government was “upset” over the spurt in ULFA-orchestrated violence in Assam but was hopeful of starting a direct dialogue at the earliest. Asked why the deadlock had not been broken yet, he said: “No dialogue is absolutely smooth.”





Goswami’s last-ditch effort



Meanwhile, anxious about the snags in the peace process she initiated, Mamoni Raisom Goswami has now put herself on the line. The writer is planning to seek the release of five jailed ULFA leaders with a personal guarantee that they will not abscond.



Goswami, who had intended to slowly ease herself out of the peace process but could not do so, said last week that she was working on an “out-of-the-box solution” to end the impasse. The statement coincided with the ULFA-constituted People’s Consultative Group (PCG) announcing plans for a mass movement to speed up the process of a direct ULFA-Delhi dialogue.



The writer said seeking the release of five senior ULFA leaders on her “personal bond” was among the various options she was exploring to break the deadlock. ULFA has been insisting on the release of the five incarcerated leaders for a quorum in its central committee, which will decide whether to go to the negotiating table. On the other hand, Delhi has been asking for a “letter of consent to talks” from the outfit before releasing the five jailed militant leaders.



Concerned over the “new hurdles” obstructing the peace process, the PCG said the only way out was a statewide mass movement to pressure Delhi to stick to the decisions arrived at during the third round of preliminary talks with it on July 22.



It was agreed during that round of talks that the Centre would “favourably consider” the release of five jailed ULFA leaders and both sides would refrain from hostile activities.