SHILLONG: Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said on Wednesday there was an urgent need to free the Northeastern region of terrorism, corruption and foreign intruders.
Addressing the gathering at the Dikshant parade of the 42nd Basic Course of the North Eastern Police Academy (NEPA) here on Wednesday, Sonowal said the biggest challenge for the new recruits would be to tackle militancy.
“It will be the responsibility of the new officers to thwart militancy to bring peace in the region,” he said and at the same time warned that “terrorists are now more sophisticated and have plenty of resources”.
Sonowal urged officers to maintain “high level of professionalism” and said there were subversive forces working against bringing peace. “All officers need to create an environment of security for every citizen,” he said and added that the youths of the region can take care of any responsibility given to them in any part of the country.
Earlier, NEPA Director D.R Doley Barman said the officers have gone through rigorous training and “they will be an asset to whichever place they are transferred to”.
Altogether 98 trainee police officers of the 42nd Basic Course from NEPA took oath during the Dikshant parade held on Wednesday. Doley Barman administered the oath to the young officers while Sonowal reviewed the parade.
Nagland’s Home Minister Yanthungo Patton was also present at the event.
Of the 98 trainees in the rank of deputy SP and sub inspector, 58 are from Assam followed by 15 from Arunachal Pradesh, nine from Tripura, seven from Nagaland, five from Mizoram, two from Manipur and one each from Meghalaya and Sikkim.
