Porous border coupled with evil designs of inimical forces have helped them to create safe heavens in NE region: Purohit

Speaking at the valedictory function of the 24th Conference of DGsP, IGsP and Heads of CPOs of North East at the Assam Administrative Staff College, Jawaharnagar, Khanapara, Guwahati, the Assam governor said that the North –Eastern states have diverse ethnic, linguistic and religious groups with a wide spectrum of aspirations, ranging from separate administrative areas to even sovreignty.

The region shares 5484 kms long international borders with Myanmar, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and China. Much of the area near the international border has remained geographically isolated and remote with trans border movement.

“Perceived sense of alienation due to connectivity problems, lopsided development, apprehension regarding protection of ethnic identity in the face of large scale illegal migration etc have fuelled growth of a number of ethnic militants initially projecting themselves as saviour of the ethnic group but later degenerating into criminal activities engaged in arms smuggling and extortion,” Purohit said.

“While counter insurgency has remained the primary focus of the security forces, with the gradual improvement in the situation, there is a need to focus on conventional policing and crime management,” he said.

The Assam governor said that the Police forces of the region need to be well aware of the dynamics in the society and train their personnel to constantly gauge mood of the population.

“Today India has made significant strides towards economic development at par with the developed countries of the world. It is imperative that dedicated efforts are made by all concerned to ensure peace and stability in the region so that the benefits of this significant phase of development can percolate down to the remotest corner of the North-Eastern region,” Purohit said.

The Assam governor said that, a platform such as DGsP, IGsP conference in the region needs to be held frequently to counter structural constraints in effective management of the security situation. The deliberations take place in the conference have the potential to thrash out effective strategy to deal with security threats.

Purohit also called upon the DGsP, IGsP and heads of CPOs to remind that they constitute a significant arm of good governance and any sustainable developmental effort can be initiated only with their active support.

“The security forces today are facing the daunting task of tackling violent militancy while at the same time confronted with the challenge of earning public goodwill to effectively control crimes, students and agrarian unrest and a variety of other issues,” Purohit said.

The Assam governor congratulated the senior formation of the Police administration and CPOs operating in North-Eastern states for their critical contribution in curbing militancy in the region and also for bringing many of the militant outfits to the negotiating table.

He however said that sustained efforts will be needed to ensure lasting peace and all round development in the areas affected by insurgency related violence and also ethnic disturbances.

Chief Secreatary of the Govt. of Assam V.K.Pipersenia, Director General of Police Mukesh Sahay along with a host of senior functionaries were present on the occasion.

The two-day conference was prominently attended by Directors General of Police from all seven North Eastern states, DG Assam Rifles, representatives from West Bengal Police and Heads of Central Police Organizations in the region.
         
During the conference, various aspects of insurgency, afflicting parts of North East were discussed in detail.

Issues related to inter-state co-ordination between police forces of North Eastern states figured prominently in the agenda with Assam Police presenting the concept of NEPOL, a communication network for police forces in the region.

The issues concerning long international borders surrounding the region and the cross border sanctuaries for insurgent groups were seen as factors sustaining current insurgency.

Besides, issues related to improving quality of policing and investigation like establishment of Forensic Science Laboratories, induction of new technology and challenges of cyber security and social media also deliberated upon.

The conference was first conceived in 1980s as a platform for North Eastern Police Forces to come together and create synergy in dealing with the vexed issue of insurgency in the region.

The first conference was organized in 1982 at Shillong, Maghalaya. Since then, under the aegis of Intelligence Bureau the conference has emerged as one of the most important common platform to deliberate upon major security related issues at the highest level of police leadership and come up with innovative solutions to counter structural constrains in dealing with a complex set of challenges in the region.

Guwahati hosted the conference for a record 9th time.

(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)