GUWAHATI, May 28: Senior police officers and district officials of Assam and Nagaland are set to have formal meetings in the next couple of days to discuss threadbare pending border issues, including “disputed areas/encroached land” at Desoi Valley Reserve Forest along the inter-state border in Jorhat district.
The move comes in the wake of a team led by Congress MLA from Mariani Rupjyoti Kurmi being fired upon from atop a hill, allegedly by unidentified settlers from Nagaland, on Thursday.
The Mariani legislator was making an on-the-spot assessment after complaints of encroachment, allegedly by occupants from Nagaland in the hilly forest area on Assam territory, when the incident took place. Fortunately, he and the other members in the team, including forest personnel, escaped unhurt.
“The inspectors general of police (IG) border of both Assam and Nagaland will have a meeting in the next two days to discuss threadbare the border issues between the two neighbouring states,” special director general of police (Assam), G.P Singh told reporters after assessing the situation on the ground on Friday and having preliminary discussions with police and district officials of Nagaland.
“Besides, senior officers from Nagaland Police, including IG (border), SP and district magistrate (Mokokchung) have agreed to discuss (in a DC-SP level meeting) with us all the issues regarding the reserve forest on either Sunday or Monday and work out a solution. I along with SP and DC, Jorhat, and DIG will attend the meeting,” Singh said.
Singh was on Wednesday directed by chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to carry out a spot investigation.
“Upon inspection, it has been noticed that some areas of the reserve forest have been encroached upon with plantations, which were however evicted by the Assam forest department on Wednesday,” he said.
He said that, with regard to a case filed at Mariani police station by the MLA, the Jorhat SP has been directed to take action and write a letter to his Mokokchung counterpart “to identify who committed Thursday’s firing, whether the weapons were licensed or unlicensed, and if unlicensed, then action should be taken against them.”
“We are arranging photographs, videos and the GPS location. A comprehensive report will be submitted to the government within the next 48 hours, intimating it about the activities violating an earlier directive of the Supreme Court. Subsequently, if the government finds it imperative to take advice from the law department, we will request the government to file a contempt of court case,” Singh said.
“Moreover, following a request from our side, the Nagaland IG, magistrate and SP have, in principle, agreed to stop all such activities and carry out joint patrolling by the forest departments of the two states. Besides, they have agreed to abide by the existing agreements and directions of the Supreme Court,” he said.
The special DGP however said a decision on the issue of setting up border outposts in the area could only be taken after a meeting with the DGP at the headquarters, home and border departments.”But we will monitor the future implementation of the action committed by Nagaland today,” he said.