Assam: Rajnath Singh says can’t hold talks with militants who can thrust a gun into a baby’s mouth

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh. (Source: PTI photo)

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh took a tough stand on Thursday, ruling out any talks or dialogue with “perpetrators of heinous crimes” and saying that conducting time-bound operations against the NDFB(S) was the only option before the government. He also announced that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) would probe the incident.

Winding up his two-day trip to trouble-torn Sonitpur and Kokrajhar districts, where at least 70 people have been massacred in five simultaneous attacks by the NDFB(S) militants, Singh said anti-militant operations must not be delayed. “The Centre has already adopted a zero-tolerance policy against all acts of terror and a similar policy will be adopted in this case too. We have decided along with the state government to launch a full-scale operation, and the Army would also extend help in this,” he said.

“We want time-bound action against the NDFB(S). The Centre has already provided 50 companies of central armed police force personnel to Assam government. The Army is also there to carry out counter-insurgency operations,” Singh said.

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“The massacre by the NDFB(S) should not be underestimated as an ordinary incident of militancy. It is an act of terror,” he said. “How can you hold talks with militants who can thrust the barrel of a gun into a five-month-old baby’s mouth?”

Singh said that External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had told him that India had sought cooperation from Bhutan and Myanmar in tackling insurgent groups.

While Singh visited Sonitpur and Kokrajhar, he could not visit the violence-hit villages since they are not accessible by road.