Tension at the Indo-Pak border has led to withdrawal of a sizeable number of troops from the North East for deployment in the western sector even as police and paramilitary forces have stepped up vigil to contain insurgency in the region, official sources said here on Saturday.
Defence sources said that troops from both GOC 4 corps based at Tezpur and GOC 3 corps based at Dimapur had been withdrawn for national security reasons and that even though reinforcements have been despatched to fill the vacuum there may be some shortfall in manpower. A senior police official, however, said this would not pose any problem as the state police was equipped to deal with the situation and would continue with its pressure on the militants.
He said even during the Kargil War troops were withdrawn from the region and sent to the war-front but counter-insurgency operations remained unaffected as they were conducted by the unified command comprising army, police and paramilitary forces. The police would work in close coordination with the CRPF and continue its pressure on the militants, he said.
A northeast frontier railway spokesperson said that the army had asked for more trains to carry troops and during the past two days seven trains carrying army personnel had left for the western sector. Bureau Report