- Social initiatives to continue
- Indian army will always care for the people, says Rangapahar
As a
commitment to friendship and mitigation of the hardships the innocent locals
been facing due to the actions of insurgents, the Assam Rifles will be
undertaking various social initiatives such as health camps too, the
paramilitary has stated.
The 3rd
Corps stationed at Rangapahar in Dimapur issued a press release on Thursday,
June 11, stating that the Indian forces will always remain a “people’s army”
working for the safety and security of the people. The “fears about retribution
are unfounded and unnecessary”, the paramilitary force said in the press
release.
The paramilitary said that the ambush near
Paralon village in Chandel district on June 4 by heavily armed insurgents led
to the death of 18 soldiers of the 6th DOGRA while some other soldiers were
also injured.
“The ambush was violently countered by the
personnel of 6 DOGRA, killing at least two militants and injuring others. The
escaping militants were pursued and reserve columns rushed in to block their
routes of exfiltration, towards the Indo Myanmar border,” the statement said.
“There have been concerns expressed by
various segments of the civilian society advising the Indian army against
retributive violence. There have also
been reports that the locals had vacated the area fearing reprisals from the
Assam Rifles,” Rangapahar authorities said.
Illustrating the fears of the local
population, the Assam Rifles said four villagers who had gone hunting unaware
of the ambush were reported by the media as having gone missing and blamed it
on the security forces’ operations in the area.
 |
| (Photo:For illustrative purpose) Indian military personnel seen here during a patrol) Paramilitary authorities in the north eastern state of Nagaland have assured the local population that there will be no 'retribution' against civilians following the series attacks on Indian army personnel by insurgent groups. The region's long history of conflict has more than frequently led to excesses against the civilian populations in the course of the Indian army's anti-insurgency operations, hence giving rise to the fears of the public. |
“This is far from true because there has been no retribution of any kind and these persons have finally returned safely. Hence, fears about retribution are unfounded and unnecessary. The security forces are aware of their responsibilities towards the civilian population and contemplating such a course of action is against the ethos of the armed forces,” the statement said.
Villagers
told to return
“The Indian Army is, and will always remain,
a people’s army, working ceaselessly for the safety and security of the
people. All counter insurgency operations
of the army are intelligence based surgical operations causing minimal
inconvenience to the people,” Rangapahar stated.
The authorities said that in spite of ‘severe
provocation and highly agitated emotive state’ of the soldiers, care was taken ‘not
to round up or otherwise trouble the villagers’. “The operation was focussed only on pursuit
of the fleeing terrorists without exposing civilians to danger. The villagers are advised to return and live
peacefully.
To reinforce the spirit of friendship and to
provide necessary immediate support, Assam Rifles will be organising medical
camps, Rangapahar stated. They will also be taking other measures to help ‘ameliorate
the hardships’ that the innocent civilians were exposed to due to acts of the insurgents
operating from Myanmar.
(Thursday, June 11, 2015. Nagaland)
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