Our Correspondent
Kohima, March 29 (EMN): Nagaland registered a total of 269 extortion cases involving various Naga political groups while 348 were arrested in the last three years.
The 269 extortion cases included 104 in 2019; 68 in 2020; and 97 in 2021 (upto December 2) as per the Home department’s annual administrative report 2021-22 tabled in the recently concluded state assembly session.
All figures provided in the report are exclusively from January 1, 2019 to December 2, 2021.
Meanwhile, the total number of ‘undergrounds’ (UGs) arrested stands at 348 (114-2019, 102-2020, 132-2021).
Detailed break-up of UGs arrested in extortion cases
| Particulars | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 (upto Dec. 2) |
| NSCN-IM | 37 | 26 | 21 |
| NSCN-K | 21 | Nil | Nil |
| NSCN-K (Khango) | Nil | 13 | 16 |
| NSCN-K (YA) | Nil | 12 | 4 |
| NSCN-R | 13 | 13 | 9 |
| NSCN-KN | 18 | 23 | 11 |
| NNC/FGN | 25 | 11 | 34 |
| ZUF | Nil | 2 | Nil |
| GPRN/NSCN (PAN) | Nil | 2 | 37 |
| Total | 114 | 102 | 132 |
It also reported a total number of 15 insurgency related incidents, seven incidents of encounter/ ambush between insurgents and security forces, five incidents of blank fire/bomb blast, and seven deaths (three extremists, two security forces, and two civilians) during the years.
The year-wise break-up of outfits and personnel/ civilians being killed and injured stands at three killed and seven injured in 2019, two killed and one injured in 2020, and two killed and four injured in 2021 (upto December 2.)
As many as 734 cadres of various UGs were arrested during this period.
In 2019, a total of 257 cadres were arrested, 200 cadres in 2020 and 277 in 2021 (upto December 2).
The UGs were either arrested by security forces/ Assam rifles, police or combined effort of security force and police.
The police also seized a total of 247 arms; 7,029 ammo; and 201 magazines from various outfits during this period.
In regard to the detention of UGs and civilians under the National Security Agency (NSA) from January 1 2019 to December 2, 2021, detention proposals were made to a total of 107 while detention orders were issued to 105 from various outfits. The break-out of NSA detention proposals stands at 20 in 2019, 52 in 2020, and 35 in 2021.
Meanwhile, 26 civilians were also detained (of both proposals and orders issued) under NSA during this period.
The intelligence wing in its brief report for the year 2021-22, stated that Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) has been successfully conducting anti-sabotage drills, sanitising routes, venues, etc resulting in safe travel and safety of VVIPS and the public in general.
BDDS has disposed of 330 vintage bombs, remnants of WW II, in the preceding years avoiding loss of lives and damage to properties that may have occurred if not detected and safely diffused in time, the report stated.
It added that the current scenario in Nagaland is ‘largely peaceful’ since most Naga UG groups are in ceasefire except the NSCN-K (Yung Aung) faction that continues to resist ceasefire overtures by the central government.
In its plans for the coming year, in order to maintain operational effectiveness, it has proposed to improve its domain expertise and analytical capability of intelligence inputs, effective participation in national conferences, gain expertise in cybercrime, and use of technology to collate intelligence, re-orient and implement strategic rotation of personnel to intelligence collection and systematic review of intelligence apparatus and plug loopholes in sharing timely intelligence inputs among sister agencies.