Assam police to register case over arms training camp organised by Bajrang Dal

Days after Rashtriya Bajrang Dal organised a training camp wherein young men were trained on handling arms, including small guns, Assam police have now instructed the Darrang Police to register a case under appropriate sections of law and investigate the matter.

This comes after India TodayNE broke the story wherein a video allegedly showing Bajrang Dal members practising arms training at a school in Mangaldoi came to light.

In a tweet, DGP Assam GP Singh wrote, "Reference Mangaldai video - SP 
@Darrang_Police has been instructed to register a case under appropriate sections of law & investigate the matter and take lawful action."

Reference Mangaldai video - SP @Darrang_Police has been instructed to regsiter a case under appropriate sections of law & investigate the matter and take lawful action. @assampolice @CMOfficeAssam

— GP Singh (@gpsinghips) July 31, 2023

It is to be mentioned here that around 350 young men in Assam received training on handling arms, including small guns, during a seven-day camp between July 24 and July 30 in Mornoi village in Darrang District, 100 kilometres from the state capital Guwahati. 

Speaking exclusively to India Today NE, Nilav Ritu, vice-president of Rashtriya Bajrang Dal acknowledged that the training indeed took place and was done to counter the security threat posed by alleged illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. 

Also Read: Bajrang Dal organises arms training for 350 youth in Assam

In the camp, the cadres received training in martial arts, weapons, survival skills, quick thinking, politics and Vedic rituals. The training also included ideological orientation and hand-to-hand combat. The trainees were aged between 18 and 30. Rashtriya Bajrang Dal led by Praveen Togadia claims to have recruited 50,000 youths in Assam. 

On the otherhand, the opposition Congress and the CPI(M) on Monday demanded action and inquiry into the alleged five-day arms training camp by the Bajrang Dal at a school in Assam's Darrang district recently as shown in a viral video. 

Congress Legislature Party leader Debabrata Saikia in a letter to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma demanded action against the organisers and inquiry into the role of the district administration in either being unaware or giving permission to the organisers to hold a camp where the members were given arms training. 

Saikia urged the chief minister to take legal action against the organisers of the camp as well as the officials of the state as this is intended to create a divide among people of different communities, religions and linguistic affiliations.