Govt out to nab heads of armed groups

KATHMANDU, Sept 9: As part of the newly enforced Special Security Plan, the Home Ministry has stepped up surveillance and arrest of the leaders of armed groups in various parts of the country. [break]



Officials at the ministry said special teams comprising National Investigation Department (NID) and police personnel have been mobilized at local levels to keep surveillance over the leaders of the armed groups and their activities.“We are closely monitoring the activities of the armed groups and tracing the whereabouts of the leaders behind groups unleashing criminal activities,” said a senior police official.



The official said they expect to arrest a number of the leaders of the armed groups soon as they have already gathered necessary information about possible hideouts.



On Sunday, police arrested the chiefs of two major armed outfits ---Nepal Defense Army (NDA) and Ranabir Sena--in Morang. The NDA was involved in planting bombs in various parts of the country including at the Assumption Church in Lalitpur, while Ranabir Sena is found to have finalized plans to unleash terror through bomb blasts in major cities including Kathmandu, Biratnagar, Birgunj and Pokhara.



Three people were killed when the NDA planted a bomb at Assumption Church. The Hindu fundamentalist group claims to be fighting for a Hindu state in Nepal.



Home Ministry spokesperson Ratna Raj Pandey said the government is closely monitoring the activities of armed groups engaged into criminal activities. “It is the duty of the government to arrest and prosecute those involved in criminal activities,” he said.



As many as 109 armed groups are said to be operating in various parts of the country but mainly in the eastern Tarai and the eastern and mid-western hill districts, according to the ministry. Criminal activities like killings, extortion, kidnapping and bomb blasts are routine for such groups.



The government recently introduced the Special Security Plan, determined to face the menace of the armed groups head on. “The Special Security Plan has now come into implementation as regional security conferences were held recently to brief government officials including police chiefs at local level about the plan,” said Pandey.



Sources said the ministry had prepared a detailed profile of all 109 armed groups and their leaders before developing a security work plan for the Tarai-Madhes and the eastern and mid-western hill districts, one of the five components of the security plan.

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