‘People’s Justice’ Is Invoked by Groups in India Frontier

GAUHATI, India — Insurgents fighting for greater self-rule in northeastern India often impose their own rough “people’s justice” on those deemed to be committing crimes.

For instance, a senior police officer in the district of Orang was assassinated by gunmen as he was stopped on his motor scooter Jan. 14.

The National Democratic Front of Bodoland, a militant group seeking independence for the Bodo tribe, said he was slain for killing rhinoceroses in the Orang wildlife sanctuary to poach their horns, which many Asians believe have aphrodisiac powers.

With popular support in their villages, and perhaps among kinsmen in the police, tribal-based insurgents may have better intelligence than local authorities--and certainly more freedom of action.

In Manipur, the collapse of a stadium under construction in the capital, Imphal, in November led to the slaying of the chief engineer of the city’s public works department and the project’s construction contractor.

The men were under investigation by Indian authorities for alleged graft when they were abducted from their homes Dec. 12. Their bodies were found the next day.