Char areas on security radar

R Dutta Choudhury

GUWAHATI, Jan 29 – The fundamentalist forces have been trying their best to create disturbance in Assam and the Government has already decided to raise a river police battalion to keep a close watch on the riverine areas including the chars to deal with the situation, said the Director General of Assam Police, GM Srivastava. Talking to The Assam Tribune, the DGP said that Assam has always been vulnerable to actions of the fundamentalist forces, which are out to whip up communal tension.

He admitted that security measures in the chars located along the international border with Bangladesh are not adequate and hoped that raising of the battalion of the river police force would improve matters in the days to come.

He revealed that steps have also been initiated to procure speed boats to intensify river patrolling, while, the border police wing is also being revamped and strengthened. On top of that, patrolling by the Border Security Force (BSF) along the international border has also been intensified.

Srivastava said that outfits like the MULFA and MULTA are trying to regroup to create disturbance in the State, while, the police and security forces are trying their best to deal with the situation. In fact, the police achieved some success in dealing with the groups like MULTA and MULFA and a number of cadres of these outfits have been arrested in different parts of Assam, particularly in Dhubri district in recent times.

Commenting on the overall law and order situation, the DGP said that people’s cooperation in dealing with militants increased, which is a very positive sign and called upon all sections of people to keep their eyes and ears open to thwart sabotage attempts by the militants.

He pointed out that the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) threw a challenge with blasts on the first day of the year and then again by calling upon the people to boycott the Republic Day celebrations, which fortunately passed off peacefully.

Srivastava said that in recent days, a number of militants have been apprehended and a good number of explosives have been recovered, while the disclosures by the arrested militants led to recovery of sophisticated weapons. He said that people’s cooperation led to recovery of an explosive on the eve of the Republic Day in Dibrugarh and announced that due honour would be given to the person, whose help led to the recovery. He appealed to the people to become a little conscious of their own security and report anything suspicious to the police immediately.

Replying to a question on the strength of the ULFA, the DGP said that though the strength of the outfit has come down, it still has the capability of trigger off explosions. He revealed that the group led by hardcore militant Hira Sarania are trying their best to indulge in violence to make their existence felt and the outfit has started using very new recruits to plant explosives.

The DGP also admitted that the situation in the Hill districts of NC Hills and Karbi Anglong is a matter of concern with DHD(J) and KNNLF trying to make their presence felt with acts of violence and the terrain putting the militants in an advantageous position. He said that according to information available, the DHD(J) is also trying to establish bases in Myanmar with the help of NSCN(I-M). He said that the police and security forces are gearing up to face the threat of the militants in the hill districts.