Himanta asks police to work towards complete withdrawal of AFSPA from Assam

GUWAHATI  – Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday directed the state police to examine how the Armed Forces Special Powers (AFSPA) Act, which is currently in force in eight of the 31 districts, can be completely withdrawn from the state.

Insurgency has been largely defeated and the police are proactively monitoring and neutralising people who are trying to regroup, the chief minister said while addressing the superintendents of police convention at Bongaigaon.

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The police must keep vigil to prevent surrendered militants from going back to the path of violence, he said.

''The police must ensure a situation so that the AFSPA can be completely withdrawn from the state,'' Sarma said.

The AFSPA has been in force for decades in three northeastern states including Assam to assist the armed forces operating there to tackle insurgency.

The entire state was declared a 'disturbed area' under AFSPA in November 1990 and was extended periodically. The Act is currently imposed in eight districts after the Centre removed it from the other parts in 2022.

The chief minister also asked the police to intensify the drive against narcotic drugs, pointing out that both small and big seizures are equally important.

The annual average market rate of drugs seized during 2018-20 in the state was Rs 196.43 crore per annum and this has increased to Rs 730 crore in 2023, he said.

Assam, which was at 15th rank earlier in registration of NDPS Act cases, has gone up to ninth position in the country, he added.

He also pointed out that there was a need to ensure smugglers cannot send subsidised fertiliser from India to other countries.

Sarma also called for stepping up vigilance to ensure that the state does not become a corridor for transport of illegal liquor or other contraband items.

Action against corrupt public officials must be intensified further, their arrests widely publicised, convictions must be ensured and family members must be sensitised to question the officials who have assets disproportionate to their known sources of income, Sarma said.

Around 2,000 personnel have been freed by the withdrawal of security cover from people based on assessment and the police were also examining if Personal Security Officers (PSOs) can be deployed with private citizens on a cost to cost basis, the chief minister added.

Assam police will soon become a zero-vacancy force with all positions to be filled up soon while 119 new police stations are being built and all five battalions will have permanent offices by February next year, Sarma added.

He urged the police personnel to be responsible while speaking to the media or using their personal social media handles.