Guwahati: The National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM), a northeast-based rebel group, has said that it was ready to protect the people of Nagaland against any attack by the Islamic State (IS).
Following the serial bomb blasts in Sri Lanka, the seperatist outfit has reportedly kept it arms wing ‘Naga Army’ and intelligence unit on alert.
V Horam, a senior leader in the rebel group, told News18, "Nagas being a Christian community need to be alert. Our army and our intelligence agencies are alert even though there is no visible threat at the moment."
The attackers in Sri Lanka had targeted churches on Easter Sunday.
Nagaland has a population of over 1.9 million of whom 88% are Christians. The 2011 Census had recorded the state's Christian population at 1,739,651, making it one of the three Christian-majority states in India along with Meghalaya and Mizoram. The state is adorned by huge churches, especially in districts like Wokha, Kohima, Dimapur and Mokokchung.
On April 22, Nagaland Chief Secretary Temjen Toy directed the Director General of Police to review the hill state's preparedness level in case a similar incident took place here.
In a letter to the DGP and inspector general of Assam Rifles (North), the chief secretary wrote, "The bomb blasts that took place in Sri Lanka on April 21, 2019, needs to be examined in the right perspective as the possibility of such incidents occurring even in Nagaland can’t be ruled out. Director General of Police, Nagaland, may, therefore, have a thorough review of the state's preparedness on preventing similar incidents in Nagaland".
(An earlier version of this new piece had wrongly quoted V. Horam, the same has been rectified)
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