The Army has been put on standby following intelligence inputs that the publication of the second and final draft of the updated National Register of Citizens (NRC) could trigger violence in “vulnerable” areas.
Officials said miscreants may target the Nagarik Seva Kendras, where documents were processed. Kuladhar Saikia, the State’s Director General of Police, said action would be taken on anyone who tried to disturb the peace. Much of the vulnerability in areas where minorities dominate has been attributed to fears generated by certain rights groups trying to paint the exercise as “anti-Muslim or anti-Bengali”.
While Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, following a high-level security meeting with district administration and police heads Thursday evening, said no one would be treated as a foreigner if his or her name does not appear in the final NRC draft to be published on July 30.
But the possibility of violence has made the security forces identify areas according to degrees of vulnerability. Kuladhar Saikia, the State’s Director General of Police, said each district has been divided into sectors, each to be headed by a senior officer.
“The district police chiefs have been told to take strict action against anyone who tries to disturb the peace,” he said.
The police have already begun cracking down on people using social media to be abusive about the NRC exercise. They include one Sabir Shah of southern Assam’s Hailakandi, who slammed NRC as a tool for targeting Bengalis.
Officials of the State’s Home department said the Centre has sent 220 companies of armed forces for deployment in vulnerable areas while the Army has been told to be on standby in case of violence, “though unlikely after assurances that no one would be sent to detention centres” after July 30.
“There might not be any violence immediately, but we have inputs that the NSKs and places where government records are kept could be attacked or vandalised,” an Army officer in western Assam, declining to be quoted, said.
The threat perception has made the Centre send 220 companies of armed forces for deployment in such vulnerable areas. These forces are Central Reserve Police Force, Sashastra Seema Bal, Border Security Force, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, Central Industrial Security Force, Railway Protection Force and Special Auxiliary Police.
The CRPF has the largest contingent with 53 companies followed by SSB with 41 and BSF with 40. The others make up the remaining 86 companies.
The State government, meanwhile, has cancelled all leave and training of employees till August 15 in the apprehension of any emergency that might arise after the NRC final draft publication on July 30.
