DIMAPUR: The Assam Rifles has refuted the allegations made by the GPRN/NSCN (Unification) that its members were harassed while they were on a picnic, terming the allegations as baseless and aimed at discouraging the Assam Rifles from discharging its duties.
The NSCN (U) on Friday accused the Assam Rifles (AR) of creating an unwarranted situation and disrespecting the spirit of ceasefire ground rules signed between the government of India and the group, claiming that its unarmed cadres in civil cloth were surrounded at Zutovi village in Dimapur on March 15 while they were on an outing.
However, PRO Defence claimed in a press statement that the AR launched an operation based on specific inputs about likely presence of armed cadres in Zutovi village and 23 of them were found inside a compound without any written permission from CFMG office, thus “clearly violating the Cease Fire Ground Rules”.
It added that the cadres handed over to the police personnel at 1:30 pm on Wednesday in the presence of five cease fire monitoring members, who arrived on the site at 11:30 am.
The AR went on to say that allegation was leveled against it to malign its image.
Meanwhile, the NSCN (U) issued a press communiqué on Friday claiming that AR personnel numbering 50-60 from different units came in around 10 vehicles and surrounded 24 of its unarmed cadres in civil cloth while they were on an annual picnic at Zutovi village, Dimapur in the early hours of March 15.
Read: NSCN (U) accuses Assam Rifles of flouting ceasefire ground rules by detaining its cadres
It claimed that the AR “intended to arrest them and hand over to the police citing congregation of GPRN members in such number is prohibited”.
“Besides showing up and creating commotion, the said Assam Rifles personnel went to the extent of ignoring GPRN/NSCN members from the Cease-Fire Supervisory Board (CFSB) who officially went to diffuse the situation. They (AR) acted aloof and did not acknowledge the presence of the GPRN/NSCN, CFSB members. Instead of co-operating they took away all the phones and detained the picnickers and CFSB members,” read the update.
The cadres were allowed to leave after more than five hours following the intervention of Western Sumi Kukami Hoho (WSKH) and village elders, it claimed.
“GPRN/NSCN would like to question the Assam Rifles higher-ups and the Ministry of Home Affairs, GoI whether those Assam Rifles personnel had any educative sense of Ceasefire Ground Rules and why would such officers and men transgress the ground rules? The arbitrary act of poaching upon the unarmed GPRN/NSCN members, who neither carried arms nor displayed any military colour but simply having a get together in their own soil and land of their forefathers, need not be hackled and harassed by occupational forces,” it said, adding that the Naga national workers have every right to conduct peaceful activities anywhere.
Maintaining that the ceasefire is not meant for harassing and threatening the Nagas, the NSCN (U) said the AR should respect the on-going political parleys between the GoI and WC, NNPG.
Condemning the act of the AR, it said appropriate measures should be taken up.
It went on to ask if the AR is in the state “facilitate peaceful co-existence between India and Nagas” or to destroy “the hope of mutually acceptable transition from conflict to enduring peace”.
