GUWAHATI: Assam DGP Mukesh Sahay has said the security force could not afford to drop its guard against ULFA (I), which has of late made its presence felt in certain pockets along the state’s border.
“The issue remains that in certain pockets their activities have increased… They are taking advantage of pockets bordering Arunachal Pradesh, Myanmar and Nagaland. They are down but not out. So we just can’t afford to relax,” Sahay told The Shillong Times on Thursday.
“But we are working closely with all our stakeholders in these areas and trying to see that we have a strong counter response to all this,” he said.
The police chief, however, said the militant outfit has been less active in the state since 2017.
“Official reports of the government of India say that their activities have gone down by more than 50 per cent,” he said.
Expressing satisfaction at the law and order situation in the state, the Assam DGP was modest when he said, “I think we have done our job to some extent. Be it in the run-up to January 26 (Republic Day), the global investors’ summit in the city in the first week of February or events thereafter, things were smooth and peaceful.”
The police chief, while pledging commitment to sustained alertness and maintenance of security in the days to come, said, “Eternal vigilance is the price of security and freedom. So we have to be ready to pay that price.”
