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A two-day conference of state police chiefs of the northeastern region convened by the Intelligence Bureau has gone underway in Guwahati with an objective to have a coordinated strategy to tackle cross-border and inter-state movement of insurgents, Maoists threat and check fake currency and arms proliferation through borders in the region.
The director generals of police of all the northeastern states and West Bengal, senior officials of the IB, senior officials of the army and paramilitary forces engaged in counter-insurgency operations in the region are attending the meeting that aims to bolster inter-state coordination among police forces of the region to tackle insurgency and other criminal activities.
A senior official of the Assam Police informed that the meeting of the DGPs of all the northeastern states would try to work out a joint strategy for the police forces to tackle cross border and inter-state movements of militants.
The issue of northeastern insurgent groups' bases on foreign soil is one of the key issues that are being taken up in the meeting. The northeastern states have long borders with Bangladesh, Myanmar, Bhutan and China and the militants of the region have the history of setting up bases in neighbouring countries like Bangladesh, Bhutan and Myanmar.
Though the present regime in Bangladesh recently cracked the whip on leaders of certain insurgent groups taking shelter on their soil, some outfits are still believed to have bases in that country.
The Union ministry of home affairs is concerned with the attempts by the Maoist groups to take a foothold in Assam and other parts of the region and the state police chiefs of the region are expected to join hands in formulating a coordination plan.
The second major issue to be discussed in the meeting is efforts by anti-India forces to pump in fake currency notes to the country to destabilise the economy.
Sources said the fake currency notes were mostly produced in Pakistan and pumped into India through different routes. The northeastern states having border with Bangladesh need to be more alert to prevent pumping in fake currency, the official noted.
The Border Security Force personnel manning India- Bangladesh border in the northeast often make seizure of such fake currency notes and such seizure are believed to be just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.
Cross-border movements of arms too are a concern for the northeastern states and the police chiefs of the region are scheduled to take up the issue.
The meeting assumes significance under the prevailing circumstances in the region that calls for better coordination in respect of operation and sharing of intelligence among the state police forces of the region.