GUWAHATI, Nov 28 - Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh have shown keen interest about the overall law and order situation in the Northeast and stressed the need for coordinated efforts by the states of the region to deal with the situation. They also called for augmentation of police training so that the men in uniform can cope with the changing times.
Highly placed official sources in the Centre told The Assam Tribune that the Prime Minister and the Home Minister had talks with the heads of the police forces of the northeastern states during the meeting of the police chiefs of all the states of the country, which concluded in Hyderabad yesterday to know the situation on the ground and to offer their suggestions to improve the security scenario.
Sources revealed that the Union Home Minister complemented the Assam Police for its performance in dealing with militancy in the past few years and for conducting one of the most peaceful Assembly polls in the State. However, at the same time, he cautioned that the police forces should not be complacent and the guards should not be lowered.
Both Modi and Singh emphasised the need for coordination between the police forces of the states of the region, particularly between Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Manipur to prevent activities of the militants. They also said that the police forces should keep a close watch on possible activities of the radical elements so that such forces cannot establish roots in the region.
The other major issue discussed was the threat posed by the ultras in the cyber space. Sources said that the police forces of the Northeast are still lagging behind in dealing with cyber crimes and there is need for modernisation of the forces in this regard to cope up with the changing scenario.
The issue of illegal migration of foreigners was another major issue, which came up for discussion and the Prime Minister and the Home Minister stressed the need for coordination between the Central and state forces to deal with the issue so that the illegal infiltration can be checked.
Police housing was also discussed in the meeting. Sources said that police housing is still not satisfactory all over the country and the situation in Assam is worse than the national average. The ways to improve the situation was discussed in the meeting of the state police heads in presence of the Prime Minister and Home Minister.
