Assam seeks MHA intervention for withdrawing Nagaland Police

Guwahati:  The Assam government has sought the Union Home ministry’s intervention to ask its Nagaland counterpart to withdraw their state police force from the disturbed area along the inter-state border.
The Assam government has also requested the Union Home Ministry to deploy SSB as a neutral force along the border with Nagaland.
In a letter to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi apprised him of the prevailing situation and the need to rehabilitate the displaced people at the earliest.
“Delay of the return of the displaced persons to their homes may aggravate the law and order situation in the state. Sooner the people return to their villages, the better it is for maintenance of the law and order,” he added.
Expressing serious concern over the presence of Nagaland armed police in some of the villages in the disputed belt, the Chief Minister requested the Union Home Minister to intervene and to withdraw the forces from the villages immediately.
“The presence of Nagaland Armed Police has caused panic among the people and they are reluctant to return homes. It is necessary that Nagaland armed police is immediately withdrawn from the villages,’ he added.
Gogoi requested Singh to initiate immediate measures to deploy Sashtra Seema Bal (SSB) as a neutral force in the affected villages along the border.
“Necessary suitable directions may be passed to the Government of Nagaland and SSB authorities for ensuring early return of the affected families from the relief camps,” he added.
Gogoi also reviewed the prevailing law and order situation along the Assam-Nagaland border with senior officials on Wednesday last.
The officials of the Home and Political Department and Assam Police apprised Gogoi that the situation was fast returning to normal and the process of rehabilitation of the displaced persons affected during the violence in B sector of Assam-Nagaland border on August 12-13 was on.
They informed the Chief Minister that some Naga villagers backed by NSCN militants were creating obstruction in the process of rehabilitation of the displaced persons, thus creating a sense of insecurity and panic among the villagers.
So far, around 5,700 camp inmates have returned to their villages while 4,167 are still in the relief camps.
Gogoi has asked the officials to take up a slew of confidence building measures to restore complete normalcy in the violence affected areas. (UNI)