Plan to curb ultras activities in Arunachal

NAHARLAGUN, March 23: Arunachal Pradesh Minister of State for Home Rima disclosed that extortions and kidnapping of Arunachalis by militants from neighboring states- especially led by both the factions of National Socialist Council of Nagaland has assumed an alarming proportions in the recent past.??Serving extortion notice and kidnapping our people by NSCN and NDFB militants of Assam and Nagaland in the recent pass has become a matter of great concern for us,? Rima said. ?The home minister was responding to a Zero Hour notice raised by Takar Marde of Congress (I) in the last day of ensuing budget session of the Arunachal Assembly on Friday. He said the Government is contemplating to curb the activities of the militants. ?Referring to the recent protest rally carried out against the extortionist by the citizens of Lohit- the district headquarter of Tezu ? and unabated kidnappings of Nyishi people of Seijosa in East Kameng district of the State, Marde asked the State government to initiate steps to protect the lives and property of the people living in border areas from clutches of militants in future. ?Government had taken a series of measures for the welfare of the people in this regard,? Rima said, adding, ?Government is also requesting its Assam counter part to help in arresting the activities of the militants, who rush back to that State after committing the crime. ?I have secret reports that undergrounds elements are visiting individual people and getting things done at the gun points for the last couple of months?, he added. ?The home minister also revealed that the capital of this Himalayan state, Itanagar, and its adjoining areas has almost become the safe heaven for the various militant groups operating in the North East region. ?He, however, urged the people to cooperate with the civil authorities and the security forces in combating the militants in the state and in checking the crimes, saying that government alone cannot control the crimes, in view of shortage of its police force. Rima, urged speaker Tamiyo Taga to request New Delhi for deploy in additional para-military forces to effectively flush out the various underground rebels of the region taking shelters in his State and to steep up more vigils in its international border. ?We cannot drive out the rebels from our state unless we are provided with additional troop as reinforcement,? the Chief Minister said, and urged New Delhi to deploy additional forces to clear his thick jungles of the guerrillas. ?We want the Center to provide us Army along with additional para-military units to launch a counter-insurgency operation and drive out the militants from our State... It is our pledge to keep Arunachal an island of peace,? the Home Minister said. ?He resented that in spite of repeated request and appraisal to Union Home and Defence Ministry about the growing insurgent activities in the State the Center has almost lend a deaf ear to his request. ?Instead of giving us more forces to deal militants in State?s Tirap and Changlang districts which have almost slipped into the hands of NSCN, the center has withdrawn one full Army brigade SSB and three of the five battalions of CRPF?, he said, adding, ?after the withdrawal of these forces, my state does not have adequate forces to control the ongoing militancy in the State?.

Forest official shot dead in Manipur

IMPHAL, March 21 : Unidentified persons shot dead a senior official of the state forest department at Langol area, four km from the Manipur capital Thursday morning, official sources said, reports PTI. The two cycle-borne assailants shot the District Forest Officer (Social Forestry) Kakai Haokip from point blank range when the official emerged from his room at 6.40 am, the sources said. The forest officials who suffered two bullet wounds on his head died instantaneously, the sources said. The gunmen made good their escape before police forces from nearby Lamphel police station rushed to the sport, they added. The body was taken to nearby Regional Institute of Medical Science Hospital for post-mortem, sources said, adding that the motive behind the killing was not immediately known. A case has been registered at Lamphel police station in this connection.