Assam to have jungle battalion, BJP up the ante

Guwahati, Aug 17 (UNI) Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today announced the raising of a ''Jungle Police Battalion'' to counter insurgency in Assam and accused the BJP and Samajwadi Party of trying to ''divide'' the society between Assamese and Hindi speaking community.

Mr Gogoi accused the North Indian politicians of ''over-reacting'' on the plight of Hindi-speaking people while ignoring hundreds of deaths of Assamese over the years.

Undaunted by this frontal attack of the Congress, BJP Rajya Sabha MP, Kalraj Mishra, who led a team of party Legislators to violence-hit Karbi Anglong, alleged that the militants were virtually running a parallel government in the state.

He said the insurgents working under the influence of Pakistani ISI had resorted to killing of Hindi-speaking people in Assam to make space for illegal migrants from Bangladesh.

Meanwhile, the CPI-ML demanded a CBI probe into the recent killings in Karbi Anglong. '' What is preventing the state government from taking adequate action to control systematic design of ultras against Hindi-speaking people ever since the Congress came to power? There has to be secret understanding between the militants and the Congress, '' CPI(ML) leader and former Assam MP Jayanta Rongpi said.

Mr Gogoi said that the Central government had given its nod to Assam government's decision to raise the elite ''Jungle Warfare Police Battalion'' in the wake of a series of killings, perpetrated by the insurgents in thickly forested Karbi Anglong hill districts.

He said the well equipped and specially trained Jungle Warfare Police Battalion would be raised as early as possible and the newly recruits of the battalion would be most likely trained in Indian Army's Counter-Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School at Vairengate.

He said the battalion would be meant for all districts of the state having jungle.

''Today, our police force have been conducting on and off operation against the ultras inside thickly forested area in coordination with the Army, but once jungle warfare battalion comes up, it will be a sustained affair, '' he noted.

As per recommendations of the Union Home Ministry, the Assam government had started the process to reorganise the police administration in Karbi Anglong, where militants had so far killed 29 Hindi-speaking settlers in the latest bloodbath.

The MHA had recommended creation of three police districts in the 10,434 sq km hill district where there are only six police stations to guard a population of 8.2 lakh.

''We are immediately going to set up two police districts in Karbi Anglong and it will be increased to three as soon as we recruit about 6000 more personnel for the force,'' the Chief Minister said.

The state government had decided to increase the number of police stations in Karbi Anglong to 12 and set up additional 13 outposts.

UNI