GUWAHATI, May 12 - With the process of updating the National Register of Citizens (NRC) reaching its final stage, there have been attempts by certain vested interest groups to scuttle the process by creating disturbance in the State. The problem for the police and security forces have been compounded because of the fact that a sizeable number of Central security force personnel have been withdrawn from Assam to be deployed in other parts of the country for elections.
Highly placed security sources told The Assam Tribune that as the process of updating the NRC is coming to an end, certain organizations have become very active and started issuing statements against the process, which is being monitored by the Supreme Court. According to intelligence inputs received by the police and security agencies, some organizations are desperate to scuttle the process or at least to delay it by creating disturbances in the State.
Sources said that the officials engaged in the process have been receiving demands that the names and addresses of the persons who filed objections should be made public. There have been instances where the persons who filed objections were called up and threatened. �It is a serious matter as the names and phone numbers of persons who filed objections should not have been made public. But it is a fact that a number of such persons received calls and they are apprehensive of attending the hearings,� sources added.
Under the circumstances, the officers and employees engaged in the process of hearing of the claims and objections coming under attack cannot be ruled out and an elaborate plan has been prepared to prevent any such incident. Sources said that the hearing centres have been classified as per their vulnerability and attempts are made to provide security cover accordingly. However, sources admitted that it is not possible to provide security cover to all the officers and government employees engaged in the process and only the security of the centres set up for hearing of claims and objections has been augmented.
Sources pointed out that law and order problem in any part of the State may slow down the process and said that all district police forces have been directed to remain alert. Several rounds of alerts have been issued to the district police forces from Dispur, police headquarter and the special branch to keep a close watch on the situation and identify the potential trouble mongers. Some unscrupulous elements are also using the social media to spread campaign against the update process of NRC and also to spread communal hate campaigns. All out efforts are made to keep watch on the social media to so that action can be taken against such elements.
However, the problem for the State compounded because of withdrawal of forces. More than 100 companies of Central forces were withdrawn from Assam after the elections as those forces have to be deployed in other parts of the country for election duty. Sources admitted that the withdrawal of the forces created problems for the law enforcing agencies. But at the same time, sources expressed the hope that the forces would be re-deployed after the elections in other parts of the country are over.
