GUWAHATI, July 22 - Security agencies are on the alert to foil any attempt by jehadi outfits or other terrorist groups to create any untoward incidents in Assam and 52 activists of the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen, Bangladesh (JMB) have been arrested during the recent months from various locations in the State.
Replying to a Call Attention Motion raised by AGP MLA Pabindra Deka in the Legislative Assembly, Parliamentary Affairs Minister CM Patowary said that there is no specific input about entry of a group of Bangladeshi jehadis into Assam via the international frontier in Meghalaya but he added that the Unified Command structure in the State is prepared to deal with any situation.
�The Unified Command structure is fully prepared to deal with any situation. As the India-Bangladesh border is not sealed, we have intensified long-range patrolling along the frontier,� he said, adding that the Chief Minister is personally monitoring the situation.
Patowary, speaking on behalf of Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, who also holds the Home portfolio, admitted that there is a shortage of police personnel in the State and to mitigate the problem, the government will recruit 5,000 policemen this year to fill up vacant posts.
He said there is total coordination among the Unified Command structure, including the Army, various paramilitary forces, the police and intelligence agencies and regular and up-to-date intelligence is being received from various sources.
�The government is committed to ensuring security of the 3.2 crore residents of Assam. All agencies are on alert. There is no reason for panic. All Superintendents of Police have been directed to keep a tab on suspicious persons and keep an eye on security at public places, markets, malls, vital installations, like refineries and other places,� he said.
Patowary said that 52 JMB terrorists have been nabbed from various locations of Lower Assam, among whom 12 were trained at religious institutions in West Bengal. Another 12 JMB terrorists are still at large and efforts are on to nab them.
He said the jehadi outfits are attempting to radicalize some sections of the local population.
The minister said that a joint meeting of intelligence agencies of the State and Centre will be held on July 28 to share information and discuss various things.
Earlier, raising the issue, Deka cited media reports about entry of Bangladeshi radicals into the State. He said the jehadi outfits have in recent times undertaken a number of deadly strikes across many countries and expressed concern that terrorist outfits may attempt the same here as well.
