Nagaland: Government urged to name authorised ILP checking bodies

DIMAPUR — The Naga Council Dimapur (NCD) has voiced concern over the potential influx of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants (IBIs) into Nagaland, particularly in light of mass eviction drives being conducted in neighbouring Assam, especially along border areas adjoining the state.

The council also expressed concern over reports of impersonators exploiting Inner Line Permit (ILP) checks to extort money from non-Naga residents.

In a press release, the NCD acknowledged the proactive actions and timely preventive measures initiated by the state government, Dimapur Naga Students' Union, other student bodies/organisations, GBs, Dimapur Urban Colony Chairmen Federation (DUCCF), and chairmen of various colonies and villages ranging from Peren district to Mon district.

Further, the council mentioned that it has learnt from reported sources that so far, anti-IBI influx actions have been successful through the effective application of strategic defensive manoeuvres by the police, law enforcement agencies, and competent Naga civil society organisations (CSOs)/tribal bodies at all the entry points on the Nagaland-Assam border, for which the NCD extended its appreciation to them.

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Stating that the perspective point of view regarding IBIs and the ILP issue is that it is a lingering, chronic, and sensitive matter, the council said that the process of solving the issue could not be done in a short period of time. It needs steadfast and steady steps in educating the people concerned.

It went on to say that any vested persons taking advantage of the precautionary actions of the government and CSOs may portray Nagas as discriminating against other non-Naga communities to tarnish the image of Nagas in the outside world. Therefore, this issue should be handled with the utmost care.

The NCD pointed out that the state government must publicly declare all those CSOs and agencies authorised to be guarantors or to check ILPs and maintained that when the government is trying its best to contain the issue with all forces/agencies, the public should not take advantage of it.

It is reported that, taking advantage of ILP checking, impersonators are collecting fees from non-Nagas, which is another form of extortion, NCD said.

It further said that the government should authorise the village authority in rural areas as well as colony chairmen or GBs to systematically check IBIs or ILPs at the grassroots level and appealed to the Naga public to sincerely extend every possible help to the state government in handling the crucial issue of ILP and IBIs.