Security intensified in Upper Assam: ADG Kuladhar Saikia

From a Correspondent

JORHAT, Sept 26: Upper Assam districts have been found sensitive following intelligence input, so special forces like CRPF and Assam Police Commando forces have been pressed into service from morning hours of Wednesday till Saturday in all the seven Upper Assam districts so that the festival passes off  peacefully. A high-level security meeting was held at the police guest house, Jorhat and all the respective SPs, including IGP (ER) were present, said  Kuladhar Saikai, the Additiol Director General of Police on Tuesday.

Talking to media persons, ADG Kuladhar Saikia said that it was a routine visit during every festival as anti-social elements take the advantage during the eve of festivals, for which security had been intensified following specific intelligence input. He said two to three fundamentalists and linkmen were held in various districts with a large cache of arms and ammunition which proved that fundamentalist groups along with underground outfits might take advantage to destabilize the festive mood, especially throughout the Upper Assam belt during Durga Puja.

However, a highly placed security official based at Jorhat said that according to intelligence output, either fundamentalists or underground outfits like ULFA, NSCN (K) might create security problems in the border township. There is also apprehension among the security personnel following specific information of the possibility of ultras sneaking from Myanmar camps during Durga Puja as a number of newly-recruited ULFA (I) cadres are expected to visit their homes in Jorhat, Majuli, Sivasagar, Lakhimpur and Dhemaji. After completing their training at the Myanmar COY 02 Camp, they have been instructed to create some confusion to prove their existence.

All the exit and entry points to the city or town will be monitored by security forces with installation of CCTV cameras in every Puja pandal, immersion site and market area. Section 144 has been imposed in Majuli district and along the Assam-galand border at all the A,B,C and D sectors starting from D at Khatkhati till A at harkatia.

On the other hand, high alert has been sounded in the triangular border township of Aruchal, galand and Assam, which is seen as the most hyper sensitive zone as outfits commit crimes and skip through the three-State corridor after crossing the intertiol border either to Myanmar or Chi, said highly placed official sources here.