GUWAHATI, Dec 22 - Though the level of violence in the northeastern States has come down, the overall security scenario remains a cause of concern. The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh held separate meetings with the heads of police forces of the States of the region to assess the situation and to get first hand information.
Highly placed sources in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) told The Assam Tribune that the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister had discussions with the heads of police forces of the NE States in the sidelines of the recently concluded meeting of the heads of police forces of all the States and Central paramilitary forces in Gujarat. Sources said that it was an initiative of Modi and for the first time, he and the Union Home Minister held such meetings with the police heads of the States of the North East.
Sources said that Modi and Singh tried to get first hand information about the situation in the region and the requirements of the States to deal with the security scenario. Though no specific directives were given to the police officers, the Centre may send some advisories to the States soon on the basis of the information gathered from the senior police officers.
MHA sources admitted that though the overall security scenario has shown some improvement as the level of violence has come down, the police and security forces cannot afford to lower their guards and the overall scenario is still a matter of concern. Sources said that in the meetings with the Prime Minister and the Home Minister, the police heads of the NE States stressed the need for improving vigil along the international border with Myanmar. As majority of the militant groups of the region have strong bases in the neighbouring country and their movement must be checked to improve the scenario, the police heads requested the Prime Minister to impress upon the Government of Myanmar to take action against the militants using the territory of that country.
Sources revealed that the DGs of the State police forces of the region also stressed the need for inter-state coordination to deal with militancy and requested the Prime Minister to continue supporting the police modernisation scheme.
The Union Home Minister praised the Assam Police for its role in dealing with militancy and discussed about improving the functioning of the police stations. The Assam Police will be facing two major challenges in the year 2016 � the South Asian Games and the State Assembly elections and those issues were also discussed.
Sources said that in the meeting, the police heads were asked to be vigilant against the growth of radical forces and separate meetings were held to deal with the Left Wing extremism.
