Security situation in NE has improved, Kiren Rijiju claims

• Manipur tops in insurgency related incidents with 167 cases followed by Arunachal Pradesh (61), Assam (33), Meghalaya (28) and Nagaland (19) • Manipur tops in insurgency related incidents with 167 cases followed by Arunachal Pradesh (61), Assam (33), Meghalaya (28) and Nagaland (19) • Mizoram and Tripura at nil Our Correspondent Imphal, Feb. 9 (EMN): The security situation in the Northeastern states has ‘improved’ in 2017 with insurgency-related incidents declining by 63 per cent compared to that of 2014, according to a written reply of Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju in the Lok Sabha. According to the reply which was made available in Imphal, the number of insurgency-related incidents in the region decreased by 36 percent compared to 2016 as the year 2017 witnessed the lowest number of insurgency-related incidents since 1997. There were 824 insurgency-related incidents in 2014, 574 incidents in 2015, 484 in 2016, 308 in 2017, it added. The reply from the Union minister came after Lok Sabha member from Manipur Dr Thokchom Meinya raised a question about the present law and order status in the Northeast region and the government’s strategy in tackling the situation during the ongoing Lok Sabha on Tue. With 167 cases, Manipur has a maximum number of insurgency related incidents among all the NE states in 2017 followed by Arunachal Pradesh (61), Assam (33), Meghalaya (28) and Nagaland (19). Mizoram and Tripura have no such reports. Besides, civilian casualties have decreased by 83 percent (212 in 2014 and 37 in 2017) in the Northeast region while casualties on the side of the security forces declined by 40 percent (20 in 2014 and 12 in 2017), it stated. Among the NE states, Manipur has the maximum number of civilian (23) and security force (8) casualties in 2017. It was followed by Assam (civilian-6, security force-3), Nagaland (civilian-3, security force-1), Arunachal Pradesh (civilian-3), and Meghalaya (civilian-2). There are no reports of such casualties in Mizoram and Tripura. It added that the central government had been following a multi-pronged strategy to deal with insurgency in the Northeastern states. The strategy comprises security-related measures and development-related measures. “The central government has also been following a policy of talks with those groups which abjure the path of violence and seek resolution of their demands peacefully within the framework of the Constitution of India,” it added.“The government of India has appointed representatives / interlocutors to hold talks with such groups.” Besides the central government has been supplementing the efforts of the state governments through various measures such as deployment of central armed police forces, financial assistance for strengthening the state police forces, and intelligence agencies; raising reserved battalions, or offering rehabilitation packages for insurgents who surrendere etc., it added.