Centre, states adopt multi-pronged approach to check border terrorism

Umsaw Khwan (Meghalaya), Dec 5: The central government in tandem with the state governments has adopted a multi-pronged approach to counter border terrorism in northeastern states and Jammu and Kashmir, union Minister of State for Home Haribhai Parathibhai Chaudhary said here on Saturday.

"The border management has been improved in a multi-tiered and multi-modal deployment along the international border and LoC," Chaudhary said in his address during the passing out parade at the North Eastern Police Academy here, 25 km from Meghalaya capital Shillong.

Altogether, 230 trainees, including 17 women, from Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Mizoram completed training as part of the 41st basic course batch.

Pointing out the different types of crime has created a huge challenge for the police, he said the secessionist and extremist challenges in the northeastern states and Jammu and Kashmir have stretched the limits of the law enforcement agencies.

He further informed that the government has taken various tactical and operational strategies to degrade the efforts and capabilities of terrorists to disturb peace in the respective states besides adopting other measures to check infiltration and proactive actions against terrorist within the state by erecting fence along the international border and improved intelligence and operational coordination.

Saying that policing job particularly in northeastern states was different from the rest of India, Chaudhary asked the newly trained officers to be more sensitive, sensible, tactful and professionally superior due to several historical, cultural, geographical, demographical social and economical reasons.

Noting that "Smart Policing" was the need of the hour for every policemen, the minister said: "Strict and firm the attitude is to be tempered with sensitivity, so that the community is able to absorb the empathy, sympathy and compassion of policeman who cares."

Moreover, he said the government would take the local populace into confidence and boost the image of police forces among the common people and various welfare/developmental activities and community policing should continuously undertaken to win the hearts and minds of the people.

On the emergence of information technology accompanied by knowledge explosion, Chaudhary said police forces need to have a better understanding of organised crime in different parts of the country.

He said the central government has sanctioned Rs.98.64 crore for implementation of the plan scheme named 'Strengthening of NEPA, Shillong' besides approving foreign training of DySP Probationers from the northeastern states.

IANS