SHILLONG, Feb 1: Chief Minister, Conrad K Sangma on Tuesday defended the intelligence department and its network following Sunday’s IED blast at Police Bazar here.
He told reporters that the government gets thousands of intelligence and it is a massive network of information. After going through the inputs, the police act accordingly and this is how, a lot of things are stopped, Sangma said.
“While this keeps happening, nobody realizes the kind of intelligence that comes in and because of which, many untoward incidents could be stopped,” the CM said.
After every IED blast in the state in recent times, the government was criticised for alleged intelligence failure.
Sangma said the police were able to pick up the people involved in Sunday’s blast in quick time due to intelligence network and inputs.
He said the agencies are working well. As they need to filter intelligence inputs, sometimes, these unfortunate incidents occur, he added.
“It is unfair to say there is intelligence failure because of one incident as there are 99.9% other incidents which have been avoided due to strong intelligence network. People never realize this,” Sangma said.
He assured that the government will do its best to thwart such incidents and restore peace.
He said further investigation is being carried out into Sunday’s incident. He assured that the police and government machinery are working overtime and nobody involved will be spared.
“Government is firm. We will do everything needed to ensure justice is done,” he added.
Ready for talks with HNLC sans conditions
Sangma also made it clear that the government is open for peace talks with the HNLC provided it is not subject to conditions.
He admitted that the government has been trying to communicate with the outfit for three years through the central government and other agencies.
Expressing concern over the recruitment of minors by the militant group, the CM said, “The government is taking steps to ensure that these things do not happen. The government is watching the situation and even the Police department is working overtime.”
There have been instances where young boys and girls were lured by the militant groups, he said and added that it is necessary for the government to engage with the youth and create opportunities for them in the form of jobs, entrepreneurship and policy.