The latest incident was the well scripted preparation for the fake surrender at 42 Assam Rifles located in Chandel district. But there was something wrong in the plot with the result that the panicky seven youths who had been lured there on the false promise of giving them employment decided to flee.

Gambhir, a surrendered insurgent, has been inside 42 Assam Rifles for sometime. At his behest his wife, Poornima took the seven youths, all from Heirok in Thoubal district, in two batches on December 29 and January 4 to the Assam Rifles camp. Gambhir who took charge of these youths, got in touch with another person suspected to be a surrenderee. He prepared the paper works for the “conscription”. Since the youths were educated ones, they could see that they were being forced to sign on dotted lines as insurgents of the Military Defence Force. Once they realised that they would be duped and forced to surrender in the masquerade of the MDF insurgents they decided to leave the camp at any cost.

When they conveyed their desire to leave the camp the surrenderees tried to dissuade them from doing so promising irresistable monetary gains during the first year. Besides they could get a lump sum in addition to their salaries in the second year. But being Manipuri’s, they had heard many stories of the traumatic experiences of the surrenderee’s. Besides, there is a tacit understanding among all insurgent groups to kill any surrenderee on sight. In the last known incident one insurgent was shot dead in presence of her mother; they were both in the kitchen cooking. Ten years ago he had surrendered along with weapons to the government. In a bid to bring about a settlement with the outfit the family members had paid money to the outfit as price of the weapons he had surrendered. He had joined the Indian Reserve battalion. Since ten years is a long time both the surrenderee and family members thought that he was exculpated, after all the money for the weapons had been paid. In due course, he had married and has a son. He visited his family occasionally from the camp of the IRB. On the fateful night some youths converged at the house. They started talking to him in a friendly manner as if they were close friends. However the terrified surrenderee just managed to tell his mother that he did not know any of them. Then within seconds he was riddled with bullets in the kitchen in front of the crestfallen mother. The loud message here is that there is no pardon for the surrenderee’s. In some cases the surrenderee insurgents had become policemen. But some of them were gunned down while on their way home. They had no time to whip out their service guns.

They started talking to him in a friendly manner as if they were close friends. However the terrified surrenderee just managed to tell his mother that he did not know any of them. Then within seconds he was riddled with bullets in the kitchen in front of the crestfallen mother

Perhaps it was thought that the botched surrender drama of the seven youths would not create ripples. The Assam Rifles officials were taken aback when there was a rumpus in the local media. On January 11 some uniformed personnel visited some houses of the seven youths. From the wordings and insignia in the epaulets of the uniforms of the officers and paintings in the vehicles it was clear that they were from the Naga Regiment. They asked some of the youths to take them to the house of Gambhir. But villagers had rushed out, on seeing the hostile faces the personnel scooted. The village elders said that Heirok is the first place in the state where Special Police Officers were appointed and there are no insurgents there. There is no question of any insurgent surrendering from Heirok. They demanded stern actions against those who had tried to engineer the fake surrender drama. Though Home Minister G. Gaikhangam promised drastic actions against the architects so far nobody has been pulled up. Certainly, a home minister cannot lift his fingers against Assam Rifles which is under the union home ministry. Anyway officials say that there is no Naga Regiment in Manipur and that no Assam Rifles officials visited there on January 11. The plot only got thickened.

Some proscribed underground organizations have warned the people of much worse offensive from the security forces. This is not the first time, nor will it be the last to stage a fake surrender drama. Manipur, having a population of less 3 millions there are over 700,000 educated youths. Since all jobs have price tags the poor youths can never expect to get employment. One of the easy baits is to promise them employment and this was exactly what had lured them to the Assam Rifles camp.

There was an interesting case of some youths from Kakching. No particulars were given out to the press. Obviously they were told not to “recognize their own mothers” and not to speak to the waiting reporters. The parents had filed a writ petition, contending that their sons had been forcibly whisked away. In an unprecedented move they had to be produced in the district and sessions court. Some mothers had collapsed when their sons did not “recognize” them. The judge called from reports from various sources. Once he was convinced that they had not surrendered of their own volition he ordered release of the youths. It came as no shock as nobody was punished for it.

Surrenders of such persons are organized in a hush manner with the reporters being informed at the eleventh hour. No chance is given to interact with the heavily masked surrenderee’s. In some cases, names and addresses of some surrenderee’s are given to press. Invariably, all underground organizations come out with press clarifications soon after the surrender dramas. The surrenderee’s are strangers whose names do not appear in the list of the insurgents, some had been cashiered for some serious crimes, and some had retired on health grounds or simply who had deserted from the camps. Death sentence is unavoidable for all of them the surrenderee’s are lodged in the shed of the dog squad of police. The peace camp at Thenguching where the veterinary department had kept ducks was closed down since insurgents made it known that they could wait the six months; a surrenderee is allowed to stay in the well guarded camp. There had been processions by the surrenderee’s demanding rehabilitation. One surrenderee’s wife had taken recourse to legal redress, saying that, the government had backed out if its commitment.

On January 19 the angry residents of Khurai Chingangbam Leikai in Imphal West district overpowered Chitra Haorungbam (50) and her son Kabui Haorugbam and handed them over to the police after a protracted public interrogation. Kabui, a surrenderee, now bivouacking at the 5/6 Gurkha Rifles camp, had allegedly given false information against Tolen Thangjam, a former insurgent who is eking out a living by driving an auto-rickshaw. Besides the mother and son duo have been asking youths of the locality to surrender on the promise of giving them, Rs. 3000 each per month and Rs. 300,000 in one year’s time. Since their offer came close at the heels of the expose of the fake surrender drama there was no taker. Instead they were pulled up. The residents found pamphlets promising rehabilitations to the surrenderee’s issued by 5/6 Gurkha Rifles. The residents pulled down the house of the mother and son. It is on cards that both of them will be expelled from the locality for life.

Fake surrenders including some genuine insurgents have failed to dampen the spirit and demoralize the rank and file.

Kavita Laithangbam