Security measures have been beefed up in the entire North Eastern region in general and Manipur, Assam and Meghalaya in particular to ensure that there are no major law and order problems before and during the Republic Day celebration.
For a long tim,e the proscribed underground organisations which have refused to sign either ceasefire or suspension of operations with the Union Government have been boycotting Republic Day and other national functions. The militants also attack security personnel and create other law and order problems to make the boycott a success.
The major underground organisations in this region, one from North Bengal bordering Assam, the anti talk Paresh Barua faction of United Liberation Front of Assam, some outfits in Meghalaya and almost all major outfits in Manipur have been boycotting all the national functions. Corcom, the apex body of six major underground organisations in Manipur has been calling the boycott all these years.
Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde is understood to have given strict instructions to the State Governments to beef up the security measures so that the militants cannot make their presence felt ahead of the Republic day celebration.
Border vigilance
Vigilance along the Indo-Myanmar and Indo-Bangladesh borders is also stepped up to check movement of the militants from their camps in the foreign sanctuaries.
Police and paramilitary forces have stepped up patrollings. Besides armed policemen and paramilitary personnel are frisking youths and checking all kinds of vehicles. There are reports of seizing some incriminating documents. However no major arrests and recovery of sophisticated weapons were reported. Police sources said that as the national function draws nearer there may be bomb blasts and ther forms of violence.
Movements of the Ministers have also been restricted since police fear that some of them are likely to be targeted during the spurt of violence. In view of the threat perceptions the Republic day functions are held inside the camps of the paramilitary personnel.
