NEW DELHI: The Centre is considering deployment of more paramilitary personnel in Northeastern states in view of the recent ambush in Manipur which resulted in the deaths of five Assam Rifles soldiers. Discussions over enhancing the deployment have been held not just in context of the recent ambush but also of the steady rise in violence in the Northeast this year.
According to official data accessed by this news paper, as many as 173 violent incidents have been reported from the Northeast till October 31 this year, an increase of around 31 per cent from last year when insurgents had carried out 132 violent incidents during the corresponding period.
"Security agencies are making a detailed assessment of the insurgency situation in the Northeast states particularly in places where active insurgents have not entered into a ceasefire with the government. If required, the government may deploy more CAPF personnel in such areas," a senior home ministry official said.
Assam, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland are the states where some of the active insurgent groups haven't yet entered into a ceasefire agreement with the Centre. Of all the Northeast states, Manipur reported highest violent incidents (90), followed by Arunachal Pradesh (22) and Assam (18).
No such violence was reported Mizoram whereas Tripura and Meghalaya reported one and two incidents each. Twelve insurgents were killed between January to October 2019, the number of extremists killed in 2020 during the corresponding period was 21 whereas 36 insurgents have been killed till October 31 this year. The number of civilians killed in insurgency-related violence till October 31 this year is 17.