IMPHAL, August 11: Cadres of the Robert faction of the United Tribal Liberation Army (UTLA) who are presently under suspension of operations should be kept at a designated camp and the group which is in a tripartite agreement should be placed under the purview of the state and their activities should be checked by Home department authorities, according to SK Thadou who us the Chairperson of the UTLA faction (SK Thadou). In a telephonic conference with IFP, SK Thadou mentioned that a small number of cadres of the Robert cadres are located at Phaiton area and carrying weapons which is against the SoO norms and added that they are presently harassing the public at the mentioned location. The cadres are also engaged in extortion activities and hence needs to be checked at the earliest by the State government, this can be done by providing a temporary designated camp for the cadres, Thadou said.
Yesterday, the armed Robert cadres came to the Thadou designated camp at around 9 am with arms. They came in two wheelers at the camp located at Muktakhal (Leisang), he said.The Thadou group cadres did not acknowledge their arrival and maintained their distance. Later, the cadres of the other group left.
In the evening, the same cadres came back to the camp and behaved in an unruly manner. The unarmed Thadou group cadres did not take their behavior lightly and overpowered three cadres. However, they were not physically assaulted by the cadres but later handed over to the Chief of Muktakhal village on humanitarian grounds. SK Thadou added that if the wayward activities of the Robert group cadres are not checked, then unwanted incidents may occur in future. He appealed the concerned authorities of the State home department to take the matter seriously and to make preparations for a temporary camp to house the cadres.