BJP for screening of paramilitary recruits

Guwahati, August 23
The harsh reality of banned militant groups in insurgency ravaged Manipur having managed to plant their cadres in the state’s paramilitary police forces had once again to be faced after the Imphal police arrested a constable of the 2nd India Reserve Battalion (IRB) for lobbing a grenade at a hospital in the Thangal Bazar area in the heart of Imphal last Friday.
The opposition BJP today demanded a special commission be set up to screen credentials of personnel of the IRB and Manipur Rifles to purge these organisations of “men planted” by militant outfits, who they said had “taken advantage of the rampant corruption” in the recruitment process.
An Imphal court yesterday ordered the remand of the IRB constable, P Munna Singh, who was accused of throwing a grenade at the behest of a militant outfit, Kangleipak Communist Party (military council), to eight days’ police custody.
According to SSP (Imphal West district) L Kailun, during interrogation the IRB constable confessed he had lobbed the grenade that he claimed was supplied to him by the outfit. He added he had taken Rs 5,000 for the “job”. Three people were injured in the grenade blasts.