Centre urges NE states to set up anti-terrorist squads

Agartala, Nov 23 (UNI) The Union Home Ministry has asked the North Eastern (NE) states to constitute separate anti-terrorist squads for each state to combat terrorism in the wake of recent serial bomb blasts in Agartala and Assam.

State Home Department officials here today said the issue was discussed in the recently held meeting of DGPs and Chief Secretaries of Northeastern states with the Union Home Ministry and it was also decided that the Centre would bear the expenditure for the initiative.

The Ministry has also asked the states to identify some police officers and diligent constables who would be imparted anti-terrorist training under the Special Protection Force, while suggesting to strengthen intelligence wings and effect better coordination between the Centre and state intelligence as well as among the states of the region.

It had decided to post a senior Central Intelligence Officer in the region to ensure the highest level of co-ordination in intelligence gathering following the serial blasts in Agartala and Assam and threat of a fresh spurt in militancy, the sources stated.

Besides reorientation of intelligence network in NE states, the Centre had assured to use latest technology in all the sectors of policing and intelligence gathering. BSF patrolling along the Indo-Bangladesh border would be strengthened to prevent trans-border movement of militants, the officials said.

The Ministry asked Tripura, Meghalaya and Assam to seal the porous stretch of the International Border and assured to extend support and even compensate the states for shifting the population from near the International border.

The Ministry has sounded an alert following reports that DGFI and ISI had been focussing on the Northeast and were working on a plan to destabilise the region.

The Centre has identified 15 such groups of Northeast, which have intensified their relationship with the HuJI and LeT recently, the sources said, adding that new strategies had been formulated to prevent Northeastern militants who were using Bangladesh hideouts for guerilla training and terror planning against India.

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