Thannganing Hungyo
Dimapur | June 14
An elegantly dressed woman would be the least suspected person to be a carrier of weapons of death. But in the commercial hub of Dimapur, where arms transactions are carried out frequently, smugglers and insurgents groups are continually employing the fairer gender to carry out their work.
Police sources, including policewomen, confirm that arrests have been made after arms and ammunition concealed in clothing of women were detected. ‘Secret compartments’ to carry guns- or their disassembled parts-, or bullets, are stitched into their garments. Shawls, or cover-up clothing, serve as concealing agents.
Here’s where the advantage of the illegal arms dealer lies: a policeman, naturally, cannot be expected to frisk a woman. The difficulty of deploying women in uniform at all hours adds to the problem.
While women smuggle these goods in and out of Dimapur, truck drivers, who conceal weapons under massive loads, are also engaged in the trade. The weaponry that is smuggled is usually ‘country made.’ But don’t get fooled by the tag. The ‘armoury’ that reaches Dimapur from Manipur, and Bangladesh, is almost as good as the originals.
A weapon displayed by an underground cadre backs this finding. His 9 mm carries all the credentials, excepting for the embossments on the pistol.
So why is Nagaland such a hotbed for these weapons? Besides undergrounds who work in connivance with ‘public opportunists’, private arms smugglers take advantage of the cosmopolitan nature of the city to deal in their wares, which, obviously, cannot be transacted in wholesale. Buyers, however, need the right contacts and connections. Or else, as a senior police official says, “They’re in trouble.”
Buyers comprise Assam insurgent groups such as ULFA and DHD, and also naxalite groups operating in states such Bihar.
But what happens when a Naga underground cadre is caught with an unlicensed gun by the Police? Most of the weapons, Police say, are returned through intervention of the ceasefire monitoring mechanisms. Some are however detained in court storehouses or police stations.
Morung Express News
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