Home Minister Amit Shah on March 25 said that the Centre had decided to “reduce the Disturbed Areas” under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) in Nagaland, Assam and Manipur due to the “significant improvement in the security situation in Northeast India”.
The AFSPA has been removed from one district of Assam, and within the limits of four police stations (Wangoi, Leimakhong, Nambol and Moirang) in Manipur, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said.
A day previously, the AFSPA was removed from the jurisdiction of three police stations in the Wokha and Zunheboto districts of Nagaland, while one police station in Arunachal Pradesh — Chowkham — was declared a “Disturbed Area” under the Act.
Also read: What is AFSPA, and where is it in force?
The law gives unbridled power to the Armed Forces and the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) deployed in “Disturbed Areas” to kill anyone acting in contravention of the law; arrest and search any premises without a warrant; and protection from prosecution and legal suits without the Central Government’s sanction.
“Compared to the year 2014, there is a reduction of 76% in the extremist incidents in the year 2022. Similarly, the deaths of security personnel and civilians have come down by 90% and 97% respectively during this period,” the MHA said in its statement.
The Ministry said that several peace accords had been implemented in the northeast States in the past four years and as a result, most extremist groups had laid down arms and become partners in the peace and development of the northeast. Since 2014, around 7,000 insurgents had surrendered.
It said that the Central Government was in constant dialogue with the State Governments and other stakeholders, and due to the improvement in the security situation, the ‘Disturbed Area’ notification under the AFSPA was completely withdrawn from Tripura in 2015 and Meghalaya in 2018.
The ‘Disturbed Area’ notification was in force since 1990 in the whole of Assam. On April 1, 2022, the AFSPA was removed from the entire State of Assam except for nine districts, including one subdivision of another district. From April 1, the districts under the AFSPA in Assam will be further reduced to eight as the AFSPA has been withdrawn from the Lakhipur subdivision of the Cachar district.
The ‘Disturbed Area’ notification was in force since 1990 in the whole of Assam. On April 1, 2022, the AFSPA was removed from the entire State of Assam except for nine districts, and one sub-division of another district. From April 1, the districts under the AFSPA in Assam will be further reduced to eight as the AFSPA has been withdrawn from the Lakhipur Sub Division of Cachar district.
The Hindureported on March 24 that AFSPA has been reduced from more areas in Nagaland.
In all, the AFSPA has been extended in the whole of eight districts and 21 police stations in five other districts of Nagaland for another six months, down from nine districts earlier. The ‘Disturbed Area’ notification was applicable in the whole of Nagaland since 1995. Following the recommendation of the committee constituted in this context to remove the AFSPA in a phased manner, the ‘Disturbed Area’ notification was withdrawn from 15 police stations of seven districts from April 1, 2022.
“It is further being withdrawn from three other police stations with effect from April, therefore, a total of 18 police stations in eight districts of Nagaland are being removed from the disturbed area notification under AFSPA,” the Ministry said.
Both State and Central governments can issue notifications regarding the AFSPA. Currently, the MHA issues periodic ‘Disturbed Area’ notifications to extend the AFSPA only for Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh. The notifications for Manipur and Assam are issued by the respective State Governments.
