From CK Nayak
New Delhi: Kidnappings have become endemic in the North East with Meghalaya topping the infamous list, and the latest case of the kidnap of an IB officer is only a pointer, says a report.
In total there have been 182 cases of kidnapping so far this year in the North East region, the report said. But going by the size of the population and area this figure is quite high, a confidential report prepared by security agencies said.
A statewide analysis showed that in Meghalaya as many as 45 kidnappings have taken place out of which 17 were by the Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) which was formed in 2009 and has been involved in killings, abductions, extortion, bomb blasts and attacks on security forces, while three people were kidnapped by the Achik Matgrik Elite Force.
The report says that 22 people were kidnapped by other unknown networks.
Meghalaya is followed by Assam with 24 cases while Tripura with only three such cases is at the bottom of the list.
The report says that kidnappings of four out of 24 persons in Assam were the handiwork of Karbi People’s Liberation Tiger (KPLT), a breakaway faction of the Karbi Longri National Liberation Front that has emerged as a new threat in the state.
However, 20 others are believed to have been kidnapped by unknown groups for ransom.
In Tripura the kidnappings were carried out by the National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT), an active outfit said to have developed trans-border links in Myanmar and Bhutan.
Interestingly the NSCN-IM with which the Government has signed a peace accord continues to indulge in abductions in Nagaland.
Sixteen people were kidnapped by NSCN-IM in the last eight and half months while 22 were abducted by the banned NSCN (Khaplang) faction, which ambushed an army convoy on June 4 this year in Chandel in Manipur, killing 18 personnel.
As far as the country as a whole is concerned, it occupies the second spot in terms of (Contd on P-10)
Kidnapping cases..
(Contd from P-3) kidnapping for ransom in the entire Asia Pacific region with North East India being one of the hot spots. So much so that the North East region has come to be bracketed at par with African and Middle East countries, insurance sources said!
