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Army to track down militants in North Cachar Hills

Sushanta Talukdar

Dimapur: The Army has moved into the hinterland of Assam’s North Cachar Hills district to track down marauding militants even as the police and central paramilitary forces have taken over the security of the entire railway corridor and the National Highway passing through the district.

Speaking from 3 Corps Headquarters in Rangapahar on Tuesday, Brigadier N.K. Misra said the combined pressure by the Army, police and central paramilitary forces had putmilitants of Dima Halam Daogah (DHD-Jewel) and other active militant groups on the to run. He claimed the overall security environment in the hill district had improved.

Brigadier Misra said the railway corridor from Lumding to Badarpur and the national highway had been lucrative targets for the militant outfits. Construction work worth Rs. 4,000 crore were taken up for the conversion of the Lumding-Badarpur section to broad gauge and the East West Corridor National Highway projects.

The series of militant attacks on Dimasa and Zeme Naga villages of the hill district since March 19 have claimed 63 lives and forced 12,981 people to take shelter in 32 relief camps. So far, 543 houses belonging to the two communities have been set ablaze.

Brig. Misra said the State Government had drawn up a plan to temporarily cluster the two villages for better security coverage, but due to lack of resources and adequate number of police personnel it was still in the planning stage. However, he said there was no animosity between the communities except for some “disgruntled elements” indulging in mindless violence.

Currently, four Army, one Assam Rifles battalion, 25 CRPF companies and 1,300 Special Police Officers besides the strength of eight police stations are deployed in the hill district to counter insurgent activities.

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