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NSCN (I-M) still active says Assam Rifles commander
December 24, 2002 22:14 IST
The National Socialist Council of Nagalim (Issac-Muivah) is still recruiting cadres and carrying out extortion nearly a month after the Centre decided not to renew its ban on the outfit, a senior Assam Rifles official said on Tuesday.
NSCN (I-M) cadres are sticking to the ground rules of the ceasefire [extended for another year from August 1], but are carrying on with recruitment drives and extortion in the Ukhrul district in Manipur, the operational area of the Assam Rifles, Sector 10 Commander Brigadier V Suresh Nair told reporters in Ukhrul on Monday.
The outfit is also operating in association with the militant Kuki Liberation Army and the Kuki Revolutionary Army, he said, adding that the killing of three police constables in an ambush on December 8 near New Haven area in the district was either the handiwork of the KLA or the KRA.
According to the agreement, the NSCN (I-M) members cannot be apprehended if they appear in civil dress, but would be arrested if found carrying arms, Brigadier Nair said.
The outfit's leaders, Thuingaleng Muivah and Issac Chisi Swu, were expected to arrive in New Delhi on December 27 and meet Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and his deputy Lal Kishenchand Advani the next day.
But their visit has been postponed by about ten days because of "logistical reasons," official sources said on Tuesday. They are now "expected towards the end of January," sources said.
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