GUWAHATI, June 28 - There is an urgent need for improving synergy between the police forces of the states of the North East while keeping the sanctity of the inter-state boundaries intact not only to deal with militancy but also to prevent other crimes. This was the view expressed by the Director General of Assam Police, Mukesh Sahay.
Talking to The Assam Tribune on the eve of the two-day conference of the heads of the police forces of the states of the region, which begins here tomorrow, the DGP said that as the militants and criminals do not respect the inter-state boundaries and trans-border crimes have become a common feature, there is need for better coordination between the police forces of the states of the region. He said that the coordination between the police forces has improved a lot over the years, but there is still scope for improvement and the two-day conference would try to evolve strategies to deal with crimes, which are affecting all the states.
Sahay pointed out that several states of the region are facing the problem of militancy and the active militant groups of the region have already joined hands. There have been movement of militants from one state to another and under the circumstances, the police forces of the states must have better coordination to deal with the situation. He pointed out that among the states of the North East, Sikkim is totally free from militancy, while, Assam and Manipur are badly affected, while, militants have started moving through Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland. Under the present situation, only better synergy among the police forces can check the inter-state movement of militants.
Giving stress on �real time sharing of intelligence�, Sahay pointed out that any intelligence input is almost invalid if that does not reach the right person at the right time. He revealed that the heads of the intelligence wings of all the states of the region would also attend the conference so that a mechanism can be evolved for ensuring real time sharing of intelligence to prevent inter-state movement of the militants and other criminals.
Admitting that cyber crime has become a major issue for all the states of the region as the militants are also using the cyber space to propagate their ideas, Sahay said that it has become a major challenge and the issue would be discussed in the conference. He expressed the view that the police forces can also use the cyber space to break the physical barriers and improve coordination.
Apart from militancy, there are several other issues that are affecting all the states of the region and only better coordination can help in dealing with such problems. He pointed out that vehicle theft has become a major issue as the criminals often take the stolen vehicles to the neighbouring states and �we need better coordination to stop this menace.� He said that improved coordination can also help the police forces of the states of the region to deal with crimes like smuggling of weapons, drugs, fake currency, etc., while it can also help in preventing human trafficking to a large extent.
