GUWAHATI: Guests attending the wedding reception of a Nagaland insurgent leader’s son were shocked to see the public display of sophisticated weapons at the venue.
Gun-toting photos of the young couple have gone viral on social media. They are seen sporting a smile and striking different poses with their index finger placed on the trigger of AK56 and M16 assault rifles.
The groom is the son of Bohoto Kiba, who is the “kilo kilonser” (home minister) of insurgent group National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Unification (NSCN-U). The reception took place on Saturday in the state’s commercial hub Dimapur.
It was learnt some guests were not happy over the manner in which the guns were displayed on such a happy and blissful occasion. None of them, however, made any fuss about it. They had their food, which was said to be sumptuous, and blessed the couple before leaving the spot.
Meanwhile, the social media is abuzz on the issue. A section of users is critical of the couple’s act.
“What they did was too much. They should have restrained themselves. I appeal to my friends to refrain from replicating it,” a user said.
Another user said, “It is wrong to ask a woman to hold the gun”.
Earlier, the NSCN-U leader Kiba had courted a controversy by allegedly threatening to shoot journalists for the use of the word “self-styled” before the military designations of members of the rebel group.
The NSCN-U, which is a breakaway faction of NSCN-IM, is among seven rebel groups which joined the Naga peace process two years ago under the banner of Naga National Political Groups or NNPGs. A process has begun in the state to close down the offices and messes of the myriad insurgent groups as they have reached an understanding with the Centre vis-à-vis vexatious Naga issue.