DG Assam Rifles Lt Gen. Pradeep Chandran Nair said the state government(s) and police have to be more visible to deal with the extortion.
New Delhi: At a time when the demand for repeal of the Armed Forces Special Power Act (AFSPA) is maximum, a senior serving military officer says "maximum extortion" takes place in the northeast where AFSPA has been withdrawn.
"Extortion by the Naga groups started in 1947. Then the Naga National Council (NNC) needed funding and thus voluntary contributions started. It became a matter of pride for every family to pay donations for the 'Naga cause'," DG Assam Rifles Lt Gen. Pradeep Chandran Nair told the magazine 'The Week' in an interview.
But he says, "Over the years, the purpose of collection and utilisation of that money changed. It created millionaires from the unabated extortion, which is termed by the Naga groups as Taxation."
"Almost every day, Assam Rifles is arresting such people (extortionists). But the common man continues to pay and suffer," said Lt Gen. Pradeep Chandran Nair. He said the state government(s) and police "have to be more visible."
"….The same thing applies in Manipur. Maximum extortion takes place where AFSPA has been withdrawn (the 33 sq km in Imphal valley), which is also called the de-notified area. Realisation has to dawn on the common people. We cannot always protect them from intimidation. That is the job of the police."
On December 30 last year, the centre set up an AFSPA review panel, and that includes, among others, DG Assam Rifles Lt Gen Nair too.
Headed by census chief Dr Vivek Joshi, Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Home, Piyush Goyal is the member secretary of the panel, other members of the committee are J Alam, Chief Secretary, Nagaland, T. John Longkumer, DGP, Nagaland, Dr M S Tuli, Joint Director Intelligence Bureau. Lt Gen B. S. Raju, DG Military Operations, is a special invitee to the review panel.
On the AFSPA repeal issue, Lt. Gen says, "It is for the government to decide, but I do hope you understand the compulsions that we face in a counterinsurgency environment."
