Shillong: The first field intelligence
unit of Assam Rifles has been deployed in the North-East and
is expected to be fully operational in about six months time,
Assam Rifles Director General Lt Gen K S Yadava said today.
"It has been deployed throughout North East up to the
sector headquarters. It will take some time to mature and find
its bearings among the local populace to gather adequate
information," Yadava said at his farewell conference here.
The intelligence unit is an officer-oriented
organization comprising about 200 men.
Assam Rifles is the lead intelligence unit along the
Myanmar border. Previous inputs were collected through an
ad-hoc arrangement.
The force is also planning to raise two commando
battalions, but the sanction was awaited.
On the proposal to move the Assam Rifles posts along
Myanmar border closer to zero line, the DG said, "Deployment
has to be in depth and supported administratively."
At present the Assam Rifles posts are much inside the
international border.
"You have seen the dense forests and adverse terrain
along the Myanmar border. Once you deploy the men, you have to
ensure that food and other supplies reach them. As the
infrastructure develops, the men will keep moving closer to
the border," the outgoing DG said.
Yadava admitted that there was a certain amount of
smuggling of contraband and arms through the Myanmar border
but claimed "The situation is not out of control."
"Any person from either side can enter into 16 km of
the boundary without any documents. Considering the friendly
nature of the border, we have to put in double the effort to
man it. We are concentrating to keep illegal activities to
minimum," he said.
On militants taking shelter in Myanmar, the DG said,
"They are actually hiding there. The Myanmar army is putting
constant pressure on them. We are coordinating with them to
flush them out."
Raised as a militia by the British in 1835 to protect
their interests in the region, the 60,000-strong paramilitary
force is now deployed in Manipur, Indo-Myanmar border and some
other states for counter-insurgency operations.
-PTI
