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NE ultras procuring arms from China

By R Dutta Choudhury

GUWAHATI, May 17 � Majority of the militant groups of the North East are still getting weapons manufactured by the Government run ordnance factories in China, while the weapons offloaded by the Chinese Army is also being sold to the militants by the clandestine arms dealers.

Highly placed official sources told The Assam Tribune that India has already taken up the issue with the Government of China. Though it is not yet ascertained whether any Chinese Government official is involved in selling of weapons to the militant groups, it is now an established fact that the weapons manufactured in the Government run ordnance factories are available with the militants of the North East region, sources said. Sources further revealed that as a part of its modernization programme, the Chinese Army has been offloading the old weapons and some of those weapons are now in the hands of the militants of the North East.

Sources revealed that during questioning by officials of different Government agencies, Ranjan Daimary, the chief of the anti-talk faction of the National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB), also admitted the fact that they used to receive weapons from China. Daimary revealed that in 1996, the NDFB paid eleven lakh US dollars as advance to procure 2,000 AK series rifles manufactured in Narinco Ordnance factory in China and the weapons were to be brought in through Bangladesh by using the sea route. However, the coast guards of Bangladesh managed to intercept two of the fishing trawlers and the NDFB received only around 600 AK series rifles.

At one point of time, the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) also used to receive weapons manufactured in China, but in recent times the security agencies have not received any input of the outfit procuring weapons. Sources said that the NSCN as well as the Manipur based outfits including PLA and UNLF are also procuring weapons from China.

Earlier, the militant groups preferred the sea route to bring the weapons from China to Bangladesh and then to the NE. But after the improvement of relations between India and Bangladesh in recent times, the militants are forced to be more guarded in bringing in weapons through Bangladesh and they have started using the routes through Myanmar by taking advantage of the porous international border. The sea route is still easier for the militants, but they are forced to make use of alternative routes because of a tougher stand adopted by the Government of Bangladesh, sources added.

Sources said that one NSCN (I-M) leader, Anthony Shimrey is suspected to be the main man behind the dealings with the clandestine arms dealers to bring in weapons from China and it is now established that he used to make such deals to help a number of smaller militant groups to bring in weapons from China. The NDFB also used to get weapons from China through the NSCN, sources claimed.

Meanwhile, sources said that during questioning Ranjan Daimary claimed that the anti-talk faction of the NDFB now has around 150 sophisticated weapons and the rest of the weapons of the outfit were taken to the designated camps by members of the pro-talk faction.

Daimary claimed before the security men that the NDFB came into contact with the Pakistani Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) through the NSCN and two batches of NDFB cadres were taken to a place near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in 1993 and 1995 for training where they were given theoretical training as well as training in handling of explosives and other weapons.

Owning responsibility for the blasts on October 30, 2008, Daimary said that they did not anticipate the blasts to be so devastating. The decision to trigger off the explosions was taken to put a message across to the Government of India for forcing the outfit to give up the demand for sovereignty. The details of the plan for the blasts were worked out in the residence of the then C-in-C of the outfit Dinthilang near Srirampur in Assam-West Bengal border, sources said quoting the interrogation report of Daimary.

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