NSCN (IM) has accused Assam Rifles personnel of being "unwitting" Covid carriers (Representational)
The NSCN (IM) - the main armed rebel group involved in the Naga Peace Talks with the central government - has accused the paramilitary personnel of the Assam Rifles of being "unwitting" coronavirus carriers who were contaminating Naga cadres by raiding their homes. In a statement issued on Sunday, the group also said troops should be confined to their barracks.
The statement was issued a day after the Assam Rifles personnel, according to the group, had raided the house of a "Major of the Naga Army" in Dimapur's Diphupar as "empowered" by the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA).
Sources said the troops found nothing incriminating and left saying "wrong input". "Unwittingly, they may have left behind the deadly virus," the NSCN (IM) stated.
The group, which has signed a ceasefire pact with the Centre, added that the raid was also a serious breach of trust when the peace talks were ongoing. "The Ceasefire does not give a free hand to the Assam Rifles in the name of AFSPA."
The statement comes in the backdrop of a standoff in the Naga peace talks, with the central government asking Intelligence Bureau chief Arvind Kumar to take over from Nagaland Governor RN Ravi, who is also the interlocutor.
The NSCN(IM) statement underlined how the high instance of COVID-19 among the Assam Rifles personnel in Nagaland and other northeastern states was "established".
"This is very alarming. But what is more alarming are their raids across Nagalim (the group's name for Nagaland) targeting NSCN members...they are not aware that they are spreading the virus," the statement read.
It further advised Assam Rifles' personnel to not "play with the lives of innocent citizens in the name of doing their duty.
"Such irresponsible manner...has become its trademark. The COVID-19 preventive protocols do not seem to exist for the Assam Rifles...It is high time for the Assam Rifles authority to confine its personnel within their barrack in the interest of containing the fast spreading virus," the Naga group said.