Assam govt. sounds high alert across the state for ISIS activities

The government directed to beef up security at all sensitive areas.

Assam parliamentary affairs minister Chandra Mohan Patowary on Monday said in Assam assembly that state government is much very concerned about the issue.

“We have alerted all district police to take adequate measures, tighten security at sensitive areas. We would not take any risk,” Patowary said.

Replying to a discussion during the zero hour in the assembly, the Assam minister said that, all district police have been ordered to maintain a close watch on any doubtful person.

“The state government has instructed to keep strict vigil all sensitive places like airports, railway station, temples, historical places, refineries, shopping malls, religious places in the state. We have also ordered to strengthen security along the Indo-Bangladesh border and already deployed second line defence,” Patowary said.

The Assam minister replying on behalf of Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, who also holds the state home portfolio, during the zero hour debate raised by BJP legislator Ashok Kumar Singhal, said that, the Assam police have been maintained close coordination with the other security agencies.

The minister further said that, so far a total of 56 Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) extremists were apprehended in the state following the Burdwan blast in West Bengal on October 2, 2014.

Recently, two trained JMB extremists were nabbed from lower Assam’s Nalbari district.

The Assam minister said that, at least 10-12 JMB extremists of the state are absconding.

The Intelligence Bureau (IB) has recently alerted the Union home ministry that, ISIS is trying to set up base in Assam with the help of some overground and underground organizations and trying to recruiting youths from Assam.

(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)