Arms anxiety

Guwahati, Sept. 4: Central intelligence agencies are worried that huge stockpiles of Chinese-made arms in possession of the Paresh Barua faction of Ulfa may fall into the hands of Maoists.

“Ulfa’s Paresh Barua faction recently received a huge cache of arms from China and there were serious apprehensions in the intelligence and security establishments that the outfit may sell these weapons to the Maoists,” a well-placed intelligence source said.

He said there was a strong possibility that Ulfa could provide these sophisticated arms to Maoists as there had been reports of Ulfa and some Manipur-based militant outfits supplying arms to Maoists in the past.

The source made the disclosure after chief minister Tarun Gogoi on Friday stated that the government has reports of Ulfa helping the Maoists.

According to intelligence sources, the Ulfa hardliners have acquired a large cache of weapons from Chinese sources, particularly from Norinco, one of the principal arms manufacturers in China.

Ulfa is believed to have stockpiled these arms, which include hundreds of AK-series assault rifles, small arms such as M-20 pistols and sophisticated explosives, at their camps in Myanmar.

The source warned of dangerous consequences if these arms find their way into the hands of Maoists because their influence runs through a stretch of territory extending from the Telangana region in Andhra Pradesh through Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Bihar up to West Bengal besides areas in western Orissa and eastern Uttar Pradesh.

“The security forces are sparing no effort to ensure that these arms do not land in the hands of Maoists,” he said.

With the Paresh Barua faction left with only 200-odd cadres and people developing a revulsion against them, the outfit is not in a position to attack high value targets or carry out largescale violence, the source said.

“At the most, they can strike at soft targets or carry out sporadic bomb attacks. Our real worry at this moment is that these weapons could reach the Maoists with whom Ulfa has struck an alliance and has assured them of a steady supply of arms and ammunition,” the source said.

“Security personnel are keeping a hawk-eyed vigil to foil any attempt to smuggle these arms from Maynmar to West Bengal through Arunachal Pradesh and Assam or via Nepal,” he said.

The source said arms supply usually first reach Arunachal Pradesh from China via Myanmar before making their way to some designated locations in Assam and North Bengal. From there, the arms consignments travel to Maoists hideouts in West Bengal and other specific locations in neighbouring Jharkhand and Orissa.

A significant chunk of arms is also smuggled into Maoist-affected states, including West Bengal, through the unfenced border with Nepal.

“They (Maoists) maintain good relations with Manipur-based People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (Prepak) and the Revolutionary People’s Front (RPF) and its armed wing, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), among others. Apart from exchanging arms and ammunition, they used to jointly organise arms training programmes,” the source said.

There had been reports of Maoist leader Kishenji visiting Manipur some years ago and staying at a PLA camp there for a few days.