R Dutta Choudhury
GUWAHATI, April 10 – With allotment of additional forces to Assam for elections, the total deployment of Central forces in the state during the Lok Sabha polls will be more than 200 companies. Meanwhile, the Centre has asked the State Government to draw up a comprehensive security plan for Guwahati city to prevent militant attacks. Talking to The Assam Tribune, highly placed official sources said that at present around 140 companies of Central forces are engaged in counter-insurgency operations in Assam. But with the Centre agreeing to deploy additional forces as per the request of the State Government, the total force deployment in the state during the polls would be 209 companies. This is in addition to two divisions of the Army. Of course, the Army will not be engaged for election duties and will only continue to conduct counter-insurgency operations.
Sources said that the Centre has directed the Assam Government to draw up an action plan to ensure violencefree polls in the districts of North Cachar Hills and Karbi Anglong as both the hill districts are facing militant attacks and additional forces would be deployed there to deal with the situation.
It may be mentioned here that a high-level team of the Government of India headed by Cabinet Secretary KM Chadrashekhar completed review of the situation in the States of Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam last evening and the main aim of the visit was to assess the force requirement in the NE States to ensure violence-free polls. The Central team had a meeting with the senior officials of the Assam Government, police, Army and Central paramilitary forces to assess the situation on the ground. The Army as well as the Additional Director General of Police (Special Branch) gave presentations before the Central team on the situation. The Assam Police was of the view that the elections should pass off peacefully and that the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) was triggering explosions with the help of the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). The Assam Police asserted that most of the cadres of the National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB) were staying in the designated camps, but the members of the anti-talk faction of the NDFB could create trouble and a close watch on the situation was being maintained.
Sources revealed that the Central team called for coordinated effort by the police and all other forces operating on the ground for dealing with the threat posed by the militants. The Centre also urged upon the State Government to ensure optimum utilisation of the forces available.
With the militants and jehadi groups based in Bangladesh posing a threat to the North East, the Cabinet Secretary directed the Border Security Force (BSF) to intensify vigil along the Indo-Bangla border to prevent anyone from sneaking into India from the neighbouring country. Though Mizoram is now considered a peaceful State, the police and security forces recently received intelligence inputs that militants were entering Assam with arms and explosives to India from Bangladesh and Myanmar through Mizoram. In view of the inputs, the Centre decided to keep a close watch on the international borders with Mizoram.
The Centre is concerned over the series of blasts in Guwahati city and directed the State Government to chalk out a comprehensive security plan to foil the attempts of the militants to trigger explosions. The Centre has assured the State Government that all required help like providing modern gadgets including CCTV cameras, vehicles, etc., would be provided by the Central Government to implement the security plan after receiving proposals from the State, sources added.
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