Mumbai: Whereas the degrees of insurgency within the North East declined up to now 5 years, the motion of contraband and smuggled items noticed an increase, Director Normal Assam Rifles Lt Gen Pradeep Chandran Nair mentioned.
Final yr, the Assam Rifles confiscated contraband value Rs 876 crore, a 61 per cent soar from 2019 when contraband value Rs 544 crore was seized, Lt Gen Nair mentioned.
This yr the determine is already Rs 751 crore as of July 31, he mentioned. What’s startling is that the rise in smuggling of contraband has occurred regardless of the coronavirus pandemic, he added.
He dwelt on the challenges confronted by Assam Rifles on border administration and tackling insurgency in Manipur, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam whereas addressing officers of the Defence Providers Workers Faculty at Wellington in Tamil Nadu not too long ago.
Lt Gen Nair spoke on the present safety scenario within the North East and the function of Assam Rifles, which has been on the forefront of all anti-militancy operations.
In Could 1944, when the Japanese swept by Burma (now Myanmar) and moved into Manipur and Nagaland, it was an Assam Rifles Battalion (3 Assam Rifles) that held the Japanese of their tracks and delayed their advance by Kohima for 2 and a half days, he mentioned.
These two and a half days proved essential to the allied forces to push reinforcements into Kohima and beat again the Japanese, finally making the Battle of Kohima the turning level of World Warfare II, he mentioned.
There are a number of challenges that Assam Rifles face like tough terrain, lack of police stations alongside the Indo-Myanmar border, lack of police powers to the Assam Rifles (it’s the solely border guarding drive with out police powers), ethnic loyalties, open border and many others, he mentioned.
The present scenario in Myanmar can also be more likely to pose additional challenges, he mentioned. The Assam Rifles is going through these challenges by means of know-how, dynamic deployment of forces, improve in weapons and tools, moreover facilitating the socio-economic upliftment of the folks of distant areas of the North East, he mentioned.
The almost 55,000-strong Assam Rifles has been guarding India”s 1,640-km lengthy border with Myanmar and in addition components of the Arunachal Pradesh border reverse China in the course of the battle underneath the operational management of the Indian Military.
The Assam Rifles, which was raised in 1835, has additionally been finishing up counter-insurgency operations in militancy-infested states within the North-Japanese area.
Additionally learn: ‘Over in underneath 1 minute’ — How 3 am raid ended with ‘encounter’ of ex-militant in Shillong
