Naga Insurgent Group NSCN-IM Accuses Assam Rifles Of Spreading Coronavirus Among Its Members During Raids

With the Indian Government not settling on its demand for a separate Naga flag and Constitution along with sharing of sovereign powers, insurgent militant group National Socialist Council of Nagaland - Isak Muivah (NSCN-IM) on Sunday (23 August) went overboard in its angst and alleged that the paramilitary force Assam Rifles (AR) was spreading novel coronavirus among the group's members while conducting raids, reports Times of India.

Trying to link the raids to the fact that the several personnel of the Assam Rifles in the northeast States have tested positive for the COVID-19 disease, NSCN-IM has demanded that the force's personnel should be confined to the "four corners" of their barracks.

This comes merely days after the NSCN-IM's representatives had held a round of talks with the Government in Delhi, in which it had complained against the Government's interlocutor for peace talks and the Governor of Nagaland N Ravi.

The parleys between the NSCN-IM and the Government have been ongoing since 1997, and it was only in 2015 that a framework agreement was signed in the presence of Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi to bring an end to the multi-decadal insurgency movement. However, since the signing of the framework agreement, the talks have not resulted into much positive headway towards a fruitful conclusion.