The ULFA commander-in-chief's 29 November claim that 150 of the outfit's cadres have been able to infiltrate into the country's security establishment created concern among learned circles. The threat turned out to be high on sensation value rather than a credible assertion by an outfit, which has been desperately trying to retain its eroding support base in the State. However, the statement did open up debates on the potential of the militant outfits to subvert the country's security forces.

The killing of seven of his colleagues by a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) soldier from Assam in Baramula of Jammu & Kashmir on 28 November was termed by Paresh Baruah as the act of a martyr who originally was an armed wing member of the outfit. Baruah stretched his claims to extreme levels as he said, "It was a coordinated suicide mission. We have about 150 such people in the army, CRPF, BSF and other security agencies, who have successfully infiltrated into the force, and are waiting to strike at our command".

The CRPF authorities refuted Baruah's claim on 30 November by saying, "This is a bogus claim aimed at creating confusion. There was no scope for a militant to get into any force as every constable is recruited only after proper police verification." The Defence Minister too, in a statement in parliament, reiterated similar words on 8 December. He said, "We should not take such claims too seriously. It is very easy for Paresh Baruah, sitting in Dhaka to issue such statements. Let us not be agitated over such clams."

There is substantial truth in the above statements and there is every reason to believe that recruitment processes for central security forces are discreet enough to identify a person of doubtful background. However, the same perhaps cannot be said about the recruitment to State police forces , which is subject to several pulls and pressures in the past. A few instances of past and the present where sympathisers of militant outfits have gained entry into police forces would be useful.

In the early part of 1990, two police constables from Lakhimpur and Sibsagar district of Assam disappeared with their arms and joined the ULFA cadres for advance training in the Kachin area of Myanmar. On another occasion, two ULFA cadres escaped along with two armed policemen from the Jorhat police station on 20 August 1991. Subsequently, the State government of Assam made a sensational disclosure about the presence of at least 500 persons with 'close ULFA links' in the police force. Acting on the orders of the Chief Minister Hiteswar Saikia, the Home department prepared a list of all the policemen recruited by the previous Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) regime. Investigations revealed that, during the previous army operations in the State against the ULFA, some police personnel not only supplied intelligence information to the outfit, but also enjoyed the hospitality of ULFA camps in areas such as Lakhipathar and Chabua.

ULFA's heydays in Assam are over. And of late, police force has not witnessed any desertion by its personnel. However, such cases have happened in other States. In Tripura, on 23 September 2003, Rahid Mian, a constable of the Tripura State Rifles (TSR) connived with the militants of the National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) to kill three of his colleagues at Sharmun range of North Tripura district and fled with 11 sophisticated arms and communication devices. Rahid was arrested more than a year later on 11 November . Similarly, on 9 February 2004, another TSR personnel fled from Panjiham Para camp to join the NLFT along with his service AK-47 assault rifle and two other SLRs. He was arrested en route to the outfit's camp in the CHT area of Bangladesh.

Although specific instances of this nature are not available, militants are known to have infiltrated into every government department in Manipur, including the police department. Few years back, two Manipur Rifles personnel fled with their arms to join a militant outfit.

On the other hand, the tactic of planting moles inside the militant outfits by the police has been sparingly used in the northeast. The Assam police, especially during the later part of the Prafulla Mahanta government, tried successfully to infiltrate into the outfits not only to gain knowledge about the outfits but also to plan and execute attacks. However, because of the risks involved in such operations, there have been few attempts.

There have been critical reactions to ULFA chief's claims. In a meeting in Dhemaji district, prominent citizens of the town said that such remarks reveal ULFA's true colours and their so-called feelings for the people of Assam. The citizens said that at a time when the number of unemployed in Assam stood at more than 1.5 million, such remarks by the ULFA were not going to benefit anyone. As a result of such negative reactions the ULFA has refrained from asserting their claims.