“The main job of Assam Rifles is to guard the borders,” said Th Radheshyam, Manipur government spokesperson and former Indian Police Service (IPS) officer on Sunday, adding that the Manipur cabinet on Friday resolved to approach the Ministry of Home Affairs and formally request the ministry to replace Assam Rifles (AR) with Manipur Police for manning the highways.

“Though the matter was not listed in the cabinet agenda, it was discussed and the cabinet members led by Chief Minister N Biren Singh have decided to approach the Home Ministry. We will also request the ministry to enable us in taking action against any personnel of the paramilitary force found involved in any crime,” said Th Radheshyam, acknowledging that there has been a decline of insurgency-related incidents in past few years.

The decision comes in the wake of a recent controversy when an IPS officer alleged "physical assault, molestation, harassment and abuse" by AR personnel deployed at the Khudengthabi check post along Imphal-Moreh highway in Tengnoupal district. The Assam Rifles had earlier refuted all allegations by the lady officer, dismissing it as "baseless, fabricated, false and malicious". The matter is currently under investigation with AR maintaining that the lady officer "on official duty had entered Myanmar illegally, and bought suspicious and unidentified goods from across the border”.

Even as negotiations continue between Assam Rifles and the state administration over the issue, the Manipur government believes that the state police and multiple agencies can help check cross-border smuggling along the national highways.

“The state government has a good working relationship with the Assam Rifles that has been aiding and assisting the civil administration, but they are primarily responsible for guarding the border,” remarked Th Radheshyam.

The biggest challenge for the Army and the paramilitary was to get accepted in Manipur - continual efforts have been made to build confidence and strengthen the military’s relationship with the local population. Regular operations are being carried out – search operations, raids and arrests backed by intelligence take place in various districts and along the Indo-Myanmar border. The border town of Moreh in Tengnoupal district is Manipur’s economic corridor, and some underground groups still try to gain control over the area.

India and Myanmar have a Free Movement Regime (FMR) that allows people living along the border to travel 16km into each other’s territory without visa. The 1,624km long Indo-Myanmar border remains a viable option for smugglers, traffickers and at times, for insurgents. The incomplete fencing and the artificial boundary line that passes through the different tribal villages on either side has seen an assimilation of citizens of both countries. It has been easy for people to cross over, and they have been doing so since ages. The unhindered movement, however, has escalated cross-border smuggling with security forces recovering huge consignments of drugs, gold, wildlife products and timber on a regular basis, mostly from Tengnoupal district.

The Permanent Vehicle Check Post (PVCP) at Khudengthabi was established in the nineties. According to official sources, about 300 vehicles and 2000 passengers are frisked daily at this check-post. In 2019, Assam Rifles had recovered contraband worth over Rs 500 crores in 125 incidents along the National Highway-102 from Moreh to Tengnoupal – the recoveries are thought to be the highest in past five years. Defence sources added that illegal trade has taken a hit along the national highway, thus giving a boost to legal trade in accordance with Centre’s Act East Policy.

The Assam Rifles had also conducted as many as 34 drug awareness campaigns in Manipur last year. Huge consignments of drugs like World-is-Yours (WIY) tablet, Heroine, Brown sugar, Crystalmyth besides weapons and war-like stores have been recovered by security forces in Manipur. Sources said the WIY tablet that originates in Myanmar costs between 50 paise to Rs 20 in the neighbouring country, but once it is smuggled into Manipur through the porous border, it is sold for as much as Rs 800 per tablet in Delhi on weekends.

First Published:Jan 26, 2020 8:21 PM IST