Rijiju reviews law and order situation in Assam with Gogoi

Guwahati: The Union home ministry today agreed to extend the deployment of Central Armed Police Forces for another three months in Assam on the request of the state government following the gunning down of Hamren SP and his personal security officer (PSO) by the militants. The decision was taken at a meeting in Guwahati between Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju and Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi. The home ministry also agreed to deploy five COBRA units of CRPF to launch counter-insurgency operations in the state and an order to this effect would be issued by Ministry of Home Affairs on 9 June, an official release said.[caption id=“attachment_1560429” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju hands extends Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s condolences to the relatives of deceased Superintendent of Police Nityananda Goswami and constable Ratul Nunisa at a tribute paying ceremony in Guwahati on Saturday. PTI[/caption] Now, there are 58 companies of central forces in the state. At the meeting Rijiju assured Gogoi, who also looks after Home, that the Centre would assist and support the state government in foiling extremist and obscurantist forces. “Modernisation of the police force is a must for dealing with sinister forces. We must be in a proper position to deal with any situation,” the release quoted Rijiju as saying. Rijiju rushed to Guwahati at the directive of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to take stock of the law and order situation in the wake of killing of the SP Nitya Nanda Goswami and his PSO Ratul Nunisa by ultras in an encounter in Karbi Anglong district on Thursday night. Rijiju said he would visit each North East state for the first hand assessment of the law and order scenario, at least once in three or four months. “More reviews and updates on the law and order front will enable us to deal with any situation,” he said. Prior to the meeting, the chief minister and Rijiju had a one-to-one interaction lasting for 15 minutes, the release said. Chief Secretary Jitesh Khosla said the state government would deal with the law and order firmly by taking security measures in Karbi Anglong district following the killing of the police officer, it said. Khosla requested the minister for help to strengthen the security apparatus in the state to deal with subversive forces, including left-wing extremism and fundamentalist elements. The chief secretary also sought assistance from the MHA to strengthen the existing police stations and to increase their number in the state, particularly in BTAD and hill districts. Khosla requested MHA to take up strengthening of the mobile network service in the state, particularly in Karbi Anglong in the backdrop of the recent incident, with the Department of Telecommunications. Joint Secretary MHA (in charge of North East), Shambhu Singh, assured that the MHA would take up the matter with DoT. “DoT is planning to install 7,000 mobile towers in the North East region alone, mostly along the borders. We will soon take up the matter with DoT to strengthen the mobile network services in Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao districts,” he said. Singh also said the MHA would pursue awarding of sufficient funds for strengthening the police apparatus including riverine patrols with the 14th Finance Commission. The meeting discussed the emergence of Maoists in some pockets of Dibrugarh, Tinsukia and South Cachar and felt the need for a comprehensive plan to deal effectively with them. The issue of updating the National Register of Citizens, 1951, also figured with the chief minister pointing out that the state government was fully prepared to start the process and was awaiting clearance of modalities from the Registrar General of India. Assam Director General of Police Khagen Sarma narrated the sequence of events of the counter insurgency operations led by slain SP Goswami on the basis of intelligence inputs and how disruption in communication compounded matters for the police party led by the SP. Principal Secretary-Home and Political MGVK Bhanu, Commissioner and Secretary-Home G D Tripathi, Additional Director General of Police (Special Branch) Pallab Bhattacharya and IGP (Law and Order) SN Singh were also present at the meeting. Gogoi and Rijiju lay wreaths on the bodies of Nityananda Goswami and his slain PSO Ratul Nunisa at the 4th Assam Police Battalion premises at Kahilipara before their last rites. PTI