Over 1000 Naga rebels nabbed in 2 yrs

New Delhi: More than a 1,000 Naga rebels were arrested by security forces since the banned NSCN-K attacked an army convoy and killed 18 soldiers in Manipur two years ago, officials said.

As many as 531 underground cadres of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khaplang and 542 overground workers were arrested in Manipur and Nagaland following intensive operations which began after the June 4, 2015, attack on army personnel.

“The operations are continuing even now and security forces have been able to restrict the NSCN-K’s movement to a great extent,” a home ministry official said. This is the first time in a decade that such a large number of Naga militants were arrested in just two years, the official claimed.

In the last two years, the security forces also killed 34 NSCN-K militants and recovered 571 sophisticated arms from the arrested underground and overground cadres of the group. After the 2015 attack, the army had carried out a surgical strike on the camps of NSCN-K, killing some militants and destroying camps.

Security forces also arrested 37 militants belonging to NSCN-Isak Muivah, 26 militants belonging to NSCN-Khole Konyak and four from NSCN-Reformation, the official said. While the NSCN-K had abrogated the ceasefire agreement on March 27, 2015, the other three insurgent groups have been maintaining the ceasefire agreement, which they signed with the central government a few years ago.

On December 8, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh had said the violence perpetrated by insurgent groups in the Northeast has come done significantly – by 75% to 80%. He also said the central government is committed to doing its best to fulfil the aspirations of the Naga people for a brighter future but ruled out the integration of the Naga-inhabited areas of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Manipur.

Expectations for lasting peace have gone up in Nagaland, which has been hit by decades of insurgency after the Centre and NSCN-Isak Muivah signed a framework agreement in 2015. Earlier this month, President Ram Nath Kovind had said Nagaland was at the threshold of making history, as the final agreement on the Naga political issue would soon be arrived at and lasting peace achieved.

On September 19, Nagaland Governor P B Acharya had said the vexed Naga issue would be in the next few months.