Tinsukia town is transit route and corridor for NSCN (IM) militants

From our Correspondent

TINSUKIA, August 23: Tinsukia town is being used as transit route and corridor by NSCN (IM) militants from Hebron Hq of Dimapur to Lohit district of Aruchal Pradesh since the past several years, said Phoren Ramwaone, captured NSCN (IM) militant currently in Tinsukia police custody who was involved in recent kidpping case of a Deomali-based Aruchale engineer.

Phoren, while talking to this correspondent at Tinsukia police station, revealed that the two school children arrested in the kidpping case and currently lodged in Juvenile home Jorhat, were sleeper cells and it was a common practice to lure school children from ga domited areas of Aruchal Pradesh, particularly Nokte and Wancho, in return for just Rs 3,000 – Rs 4,000 and to transport them to Hebron camp for training, who in later stages are inducted into either civil or military wing of NSCN (IM) and in an average 5-6 children are picked up from Lohit and Longding districts annually.

A hardcore NSCN(IM) militant and already jailed once, Phoren, trained to operate all sophisticated weapons including snipers, said that militants usually masquerading as civilians travel by train to Tinsukia from Dimapur, sometimes hiberte in Tinsukia and board passenger buses to harkatia and filly go to Deomali or Longding in hired vehicles. These militants on regular basis carry cash (tax) from Aruchal Pradesh to Hebron (Dimapur) and vice-versa while the cash, which is being carried from Hebron is meant for salary of the cadres based at Lohit and Longding districts. Depending on cash flow (tax collected) the salary varies from Rs 800 to the maximum of Rs 2,000, Phoren said.

There are 40 armed cadres of military wing under the command of one Rockwang self-styled brigadier based at Nokte area, while two junior ranking officers - Anok Wancho, self-styled captain and one Pantey, self-styled major - oversee Longding and Wancho area respectively. The civil wing authorized to collect tax is under the control of one Salang Wancho, the town commander also called tatar/kilonser. According to Phoren, the cadres of civil wing mostly restrict their drive within the territory of Aruchal Pradesh but expressed ignorance about their presence in harkatia of Assam, though unconfirmed reports say the cadres of the civil wing also venture into Assam territory like Sori, harkatia,Joypore and collect selective tax from businessmen.

Phoren further stated that peace never prevailed in the district ever since NSCN(IM) surfaced there, while the police posts are allegedly ormental, there have been regular internecine clashes among different factions, besides frequent shootout with the Army.

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