Simmering tension; NSCN (IM) detain Assam Rifles jawans
Morung Express News
Dimapur | April 19
Simmering tension between the NSCN (I-M) and Assam Rifles reached another breaking point when a truck of the 29th AR carrying five armed jawans nearly gate crashed into the NSCN (I-M) council headquarters, Camp Hebron, some 40km from Dimapur.
The truck (MN-7430) with the five AR jawans on ROP duty “under direction of camp commander Maj. Sukanta” was halted by NSCN (I-M) cadres just 20 metres away from the entrance gate of Hebron Camp around 8am, NSCN officials told mediapersons who reached the spot a couple of hours later.
Irked by the “intrusion” of their space, NSCN cadres detained the five jawans and seized their weapons, forcing the intervention of the chairman of ceasefire monitoring group (CFMG), Maj Gen (retd) N George, who rushed down from Kohima to break the impasse.
Before the arrival of the CFMG chairman, senior NSCN (I-M) members including the group’s ceasefire monitoring cell convenor, Vikiye Sumi, and AR officers including Brig. Bency Jacob of 6th sector, 29th AR commandant, Col. Rakesh Bhardwaj, and 29 AR camp commander, Maj. Sukanta, discussed on the incident outside the gate of Camp Hebron.
On his arrival, the CFMG chairman had a closed door meeting with the AR officers and NSCN (I-M) officials in presence of district administration and police at Monglumukh village, a couple of kilometers from Hebron Camp.
Emerging from the meeting, the CFMG chairman admitted that the AR troops have violated the ceasefire ground rules (CFGR) signed between the Government of India and NSCN (I-M).
“It is confirmed that troops of Assam Rifles came in close proximity to the NSCN camp without giving prior information, which is against the ground rules and the Assam Rifles have also accepted. I recognize this as purely an error of judgement with no mala fide intention,” a visibly upset Geroge told media persons.
The CFMG chairman said that as per AR version of the incident, the new brigade commander, Brig. Jacob who took command a couple of months back wanted to familiarize himself with the area and the guilty truck with the five jawans came to facilitate the commander’s “familiarization.”
However, the AR personnel “strayed beyond the line, which should not have happened,” George said and added that there “is need to return the troops and weapons to the unit.”
On the other hand, the NSCN (I-M) accused the AR of blatantly violating the CFGR and termed the AR’s version as a “lame excuse.” “How can the AR troops who are regularly frisking the road to Camp Hebron not know the topography of the area and perimeters of the camp? This is another attempt to provoke the NSCN,” a senior NSCN member said.
According to revised text of CFGR, 2001, Rule ‘B’ states that patrolling by Indian Army or paramilitary force “within one km of NSCN designated camps decided after due consultation in the monitoring mechanism, will be carried out with intimation to them.”
At the time of filing this report, the five AR personnel including Nike/Subedar KD Tiwari, Havaldar Sooarn Singh, Riflemen Ravi, Balvi Singh and Rahul Kumar, were released while their weapons and other accessories including four AK-47 rifles, one INSAS rifle, ammunitions, two wireless sets and handsets were yet to be returned.
Womenfolk and villagers of the area who kept vigil on the road throughout the day went back after getting assurance from the CFMG chairman that both sides would keep the peace.
