The strong
opposition voiced by some bailed out
militants against the proposal of the State
Police Department that all the former UGs
should report to the nearest police station
by September 1 (the date has been extended
to September 7) is a matter serious enough
to merit some thoughts and introspection. We
do not doubt the sincerity of the State
Police Department in coming out with the new
model, for Additional DGP Y Joykumar has
more than made it clear when he announced
the new model to the media, that the latest
arrangement has been necessitated by the
desire to ensure that former militants are
allowed to live a life of peace without any
harassments by the security personnel.
The observation of the State Police
Department is on firm ground for Manipur has
been witness to a number of allegations
against the security personnel of
eliminating former militants who have
severed all links with their former
comrades. It is another matter that the
security force also comes out with some
fantastic stories of encounters every time a
former UG is killed and we leave it to the
judgment of the people to either believe the
version of the security personnel or the
allegations of the family members of the
victims.
The intention
of the State Police Department is no doubt
laudable and while no efforts should be
spared to ensure that former militants who
have severed all links with their former
organizations are allowed to lead a tension
free life, we nevertheless think that the
Police Department too should closely study
their new method minutely before actually
implementing it.
As announced earlier, the former militants
are expected to report to the nearest police
station along with their parents and
guardians by September 1 (date extended to
September 7). The former UGs are also
expected to submit three photos of
themselves to the police. Moreover the
former militants are also expected to report
to the respective police station every week
failing which it will be presumed that they
have rejoined their former organization. The
police have also floated the plan of
arranging interactive sessions between the
former UGs and the security personnel so as
to acquaint them with the men in uniform,
which in turn translates into introducing
the former guerillas to the security
personnel so that they do not become sitting
ducks before the security force.
As we had noted earlier in this column, the
effort of the State Police Department is
laudable for the simple reason that security
personnel do not have the right to harass
former militants who are leading normal
lives. However the former UGs who have
raised the opposition against the new scheme
of the Police Department too have a point
and it would do well for all concerned if
some more thought is given to the new
arrangements.
For starters how can we be sure that the
security personnel will respect the new
arrangement when even the directives of the
Supreme Court are not followed at all? The
new model also does not mention the cut off
year. We should remember that a number of
former militants have completely given up
their links with their former organizations
and are leading absolutely normal lives
engaged in their trade and profession with
some even joining politics.
Does this
mean that former militants who started
leading normal lives from, say, 1980 should
also report to the police station? These are
but just some points that should be
seriously pondered over before the new model
is actually implemented.
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