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North East : Tribal militants blast Rajdhani Express, 5 killed

	December 17, 2007

In an apparent attempt to demonstrate their muscle power, Assam’s tribal outfit, Adivasi National Liberation Army (ANLA) which recently launched a movement for Scheduled Tribe status, blasted the prestigious Delhi-bound Rajdhani Express on Dec. 13, killing five people and seriously injuring four others.



The blast tore through a coach of the Dibrugarh Rajdhani Express, which continued to travel another 1.5 km with bodies hanging out of the mangled steel and dropping off.



The explosion, which took place near Kating village, 280km east of Guwahati, blew a hole through the coach’s floor, smashed the windows and ripped the roof and walls. But the train did not stop till it had reached the nearest station, Chongajan, by when three of the dead had fallen off.



Although Government Railway Police superintendent Surendra Kumar pointed a finger at the ANLA, other sources said the group could not have carried out the strike on its own and must have received help.



Claiming responsibility for the blast, a self-styled “captain” of the ANLA, Prem Bawar, told newsmen over phone: “We have carried out the blast.”



Northeast Frontier Railway spokesman T. Rabha said the tracks showed a crater 1.8 metres wide and 0.82 metre deep. It was a powerful bomb, officials said, adding it was a stroke of luck that 31 of the 40 passengers in the coach escaped without major injuries.



Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil has strongly condemned the blasts, an MHA spokesman said. The Ministry is closely monitoring the situation.



Tribal Affairs Minister P.R. Kyndiah who spoke to Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, has expressed his desire to hold talks with the six communities of the state, including the Adivasis, agitating for ST status. The talks are expected to begin tomorrow, December 18, in New Delhi.





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ANLA graduates to bloodspill



The Adivasi National Liberation Army (ANLA) has just come of age. From minor extortion sprees and abductions, the outfit has learnt how to spill blood.



Formed in 2004, ANLA was initially active along the Golaghat-Karbi Anglong border and had been tagged at best as “unprofessional” by the police. Its ring leader, Raj Munda, is from Karbi Anglong, where the outfit has a strong base.



A sudden spurt in its militant activities began following the mob mayhem at Beltola in Guwahati on November 24, when one Adivasi was killed and more than 250 injured.



On December 3, the outfit triggered an explosion on the tracks between the Khatikhati and Bokajan railway stations in Karbi Anglong district, causing minor damage to the Dibrugarh-bound 5959 up Kamrup Express. Police also suspect its hand in a blast on the tracks between the Tangla and Harisinga railway stations in Udalguri district on December 7.



The group had threatened to target “innocent civilians” and “the Tarun Gogoi-led government’s men” to avenge the brutalities on protesters during a procession taken out by the All Adivasi Students’ Association of Assam at the Beltola bazar in Guwahati on November 24.



Early this month, six militants of the outfit were arrested and its transit camp busted in the Jalukbari area of the city. The police recovered Rs 1.5 lakh in cash and several incriminating documents from the arrested militants. The police are hopeful of recovering arms and ammunition from the arrested militants.



Those arrested, apart from Munda, are Sunil Salsa, Bilkam Toppo, Francis Toppo, John Karketta, Nocholas Lakra and driver Ganesh Deka. The arrest of ANLA militants comes in the wake of reports that five Adivasi organisations, including two militant outfits and the Jharkhand Disam Party, floated a new forum called the Joint Adivasi Action Committee.



The new organisation vowed to fight for the development of the community in five states - Assam, Jharkhand, Orissa, Bihar and West Bengal.



The Additional Superintendent of Police, Debojit Deuri, said the arrested militants had plans to carry out retaliatory strikes in Beltola to avenge the November 24 incident. Some of the militants are students of various institutions in the city but also members of the outfit. This is the first time that ANLA militants have been arrested from the capital city.





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Special security measures, armed jawans to pilot trains



Jolted by the blast on Rajdhani Express on Dec. 13, the Northeast Frontier Railway has decided to revamp the existing security network on tracks across Assam with special emphasis on vulnerable stretches.



Henceforth, personnel of the Railway Protection Force and Railway Protection Special Force, the combat wing of the RPF, will move ahead of the trains to carry out checks.



Spokesman for the NF Railway, T. Rabha, said security on the railway tracks has been augmented to an “unprecedented level”.



“We will supplement the already existing security being provided by the state government by deploying personnel of the Railway Protection Force and Railway Protection Special Force before movement of any train,” Rabha said.



Mobile patrols will be carried out by RPF and RPSF on motor trolleys, goods trains and other light engines.



At present, security of the tracks is being taken care of by the state government by deploying GRP and paramilitary forces.

“The government is already stretched and cannot do more,” a source said.



The forces will be deployed in the identified vulnerable tracks of the state and on major routes. The advantage of mobile patrolling is that it covers greater distances within limited time.



Officials said they suspected the group had triggered the blast, possibly with help from another outfit, but refused to confirm its role.



“Prima facie evidence suggests the involvement of ANLA, since the area where the blast occurred has a sizeable Adivasi population and the outfit had carried out a similar blast on the railway tracks a few days ago just some distance away from the Dec. 13 incident,” the officer in-charge of Sarupathar police station, Rohindra Changmai, said.