GUWAHATI: With the insurgency problem in the Northeast more or less solved, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday advised the police in the region to change its approach and work to ensure that people get their rights, including the protection of their lives and properties.
“For four decades, the focus of the police in the Northeast was on fighting insurgency. Now that insurgency is gone, it will work to protect the rights of citizens as guaranteed by the Constitution. We have to change the focus and training of police,” Shah said addressing the 72nd plenary session of the North Eastern Council in the Tripura capital Agartala.
Governors and Chief Ministers of the Northeast were among dignitaries who attended the session.
Referring to Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA), Shah said these three new criminal laws would help citizens get justice within three years of lodging FIRs.
“We kept fighting terrorism and violence. The goal of the police was to get rid of violence. That task has been almost accomplished. As there is peace now in the Northeast, the police will have to change its culture and direction,” he reiterated.
He said a multi-dimensional approach with a different strategy for each state helped curb the incidents of violence. He said there was a 31 per cent drop in violent incidents and 86 per cent drop in civilian killings in the region in the last 10 years.
The home minister said peace accords were signed with various insurgent groups and 10,574 rebels surrendered. He cited the agreements signed between Assam and Meghalaya, and Assam and Arunachal Pradesh for solving border disputes. He said these agreements also helped establish peace.
“We have initiated the Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyan. The Northeast has a special responsibility. The region is a transit route for narcotic-smuggling. I appeal to all Governors and Chief Ministers to help remove the blemish. We have to work very hard to make Bharat ‘nasha-mukt’. The Northeast can contribute tremendously towards this end,” Shah further stated.