Director General (DG) of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), SIS Ahmed, claimed that the militancy scenario in the North-East was compounded by “external forces” aiding and abetting the insurgent outfits in the region. “Militancy in the North-East has been aggravated by external forces aiding the militant outfits in the region,” Ahmed said.

Expressing concern at the rise of cross-border terrorism, Ahmed said that the ULFA still posed the biggest threat to the State and the North-East. He also singled out the districts of North Cachar Hills and Karbi Anglong as most trouble-torn in recent times. “We are putting special emphasis on controlling law and order in these two districts,” he said.

The CRPF DG revealed that the force was getting intelligence inputs about the growing nexus of jehadi elements with local militant outfits. “We have been receiving intelligence inputs on growing jehadi activities and their nexus with militants,” he said, but refused to divulge anything further because of security reasons.

“The CRPF is gearing up to meet the challenge posed by jehadi groups,” he added.

Ahmed said that the CRPF had taken cognizance of the growing stature of the Adivasi National Liberation Army (ANLA) and that a plan of action was being chalked out to counter the threat. “We are taking necessary action to counter the outfit,” he added.

The CRPF DG said that special training programme for CRPF jawans was on the anvil to boost their effectiveness in the Northeast. “The difficult terrain of the region calls for specialized training in jungle warfare. We are having such training at the Counter-insurgency Anti-terrorism School at Silchar,” he said.

Of the 125 companies of the CRPF deployed in the Northeast, Guwahati has the maximum of 15 companies.

He also put emphasis on the CRPF’s civil action programme, as “a close rapport with the public is essential for successful maintenance of law and order.” The DG also maintained that cooperation among the police, army and paramilitary forces was imperative for success against militant outfits.

On the human rights front, Ahmed asserted that the CRPF had an impeccable record not just in the Northeast but in other States of the country as well. “We boast of a very clean human rights record throughout the country,” he said.

A seminar on ‘Challenges ahead for CRPF in Northeast’ was also held at the CRPF Group Centre, Na-Mile. In the seminar, the DG stressed the need for equipping the CRPF with sophisticated gadgets such as light-weight bullet-proof jackets.

Mehboob Alam, IGP, CRPF, Northeast, and NR Das, ADGP, CRPF, Eastern Zone, also spoke at the seminar.

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