Assam Rifles Personnel, Former Militants in 'Dangerous Liaison'

By Anil Anand & Josy Joseph

New Delhi, Mar 17 : The central government is looking into suspected collusion between security forces and surrendered militants in extortion and other illegal activities. Sources in the intelligence establishment say its specific focus is on the link between surrendered militants in Manipur and personnel of the Assam Rifles.

According to confidential reports accessed by DNA, some Assam Rifles personnel are in league with surrendered militants of the Lallumba faction of the Kangleipak Communist Party-Military Council (KCP-MC), and are into extortion and other illegal activities. The reports also raise questions on whether they are involved in gun-running.

What sent the alarm bells ringing among the authorities was the recent kidnapping of a joint director of the state assembly. He was let off after a hefty ransom was paid. Sources said there were clear inputs to show that personnel of the Assam Rifles were hand-in-glove with members of the KCP-MC splinter group in the entire episode.

The collusion started sometime after the militant group and the government entered into a “suspension of operations”, a kind of ceasefire, in Manipur a couple of years ago.

One report says while originally just about a dozen armed militants had surrendered with their personal weapons in Imphal in 2007, their numbers swelled to over 200 in the latest instance. During this period, the KCP-MC faction was engaged in protracted talks with the central government and the state.

“It is of grave concern…When the surrender process goes for too long, such problems arise. We are looking into the entire issue,” a senior government official said.

There are also allegations that these militants are operating in Imphal and nearby areas wearing Assam Rifles uniform; they couldn’t have done it without the tacit support of some personnel in the agency.

The Lallumba faction is one of the many splinter groups of the KCP that was founded in 1980 demanding the secession of Manipur from India.

The suspension of operations and negotiations are being supervised at various levels, including by a joint monitoring group under the chairmanship of a senior police officer of the state.

However, the conflicting power structures and several agencies that have a stake in the north-east are all leading to the entire mess, says an army source.

For example, though a paramilitary force is under the home ministry, Assam Rifles is led by officers from the army, he adds.
For almost a year now, “nobody is taking the lead” to provide the surrendered militants financial allowance and designated camps before they are brought back to mainstream. Thus the militants continue to remain within the Assam Rifles camp in Imphal, said a senior army officer. In such close proximity, the officer said, collusions are possible.

“When the militants surrendered they had deposited their weapons with us, and were moved into tents in the Mantri Pokri camp. The centre is yet to implement the terms and conditions of the agreement with them. We have been asking them (the home ministry) to implement it and move the militants to designated camps,” a senior army officer said.