Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma at a two-day conference of senior police officers in Dergaon

Guwahati: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday said that his government has decided to strengthen coordination with Manipur, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh to check the flow of narcotics into the state besides raising two new specialised battalions, including one for disaster response and another for providing security to the state's oil and gas installations.

Informing that decision was atken at a two-day conference of senior police officers in Dergaon, the chief minister said that conference of senior police officers also discussed several measures aimed at strengthening the Assam Police and improving its capacity to deal with crime, disasters and emerging security challenges.

He told reporters that the government had decided to establish a new State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) battalion and another dedicated to the security of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Oil India Limited (OIL) installations. “To strengthen Assam Police, we have decided to establish a new SDRF battalion and another battalion for the security of ONGC and OIL,” the Chief Minister said.

The conference also held detailed discussions on intensifying the state's campaign against drug trafficking, including emerging trafficking routes, changing modus operandi and ways to identify kingpins.

Pointing out that Assam has decided to strengthen coordination with neighbouring state of Manipur, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh to tackle the drug trade, Mr Sarma said that state government would also explore measures, including preventive detention, against major traffickers.

He also announced that the state would constitute an Anti-Narcotics Task Force within a month. “The Centre has asked us to constitute one. The proposed unit will focus on issues including property attachment, strengthening forensic investigations, disrupting the financial networks of traffickers and preventing procedural lapses that could benefit accused persons,” he said.

The chief minister said the government would also examine rehabilitation centres following reports of drugs being available at some such facilities.

He said that the government had set a target of increasing the conviction rate to 35 percent from the current 29.30 percent. “The conviction rate in Assam stood at around 7 percent in 2020, we want to improve that and bring the number to 35 percent now,” he said

Mr Sarma said around 5,000 personnel had been recruited over the past five years, with plans to recruit another 15,000 to 20,000 personnel during the next five years. “We are also trying to clear the bottlenecks for this,” he said.

Improving police infrastructure was also discussed, including plans to upgrade the Lachit Borphukan Police Academy into a national-level institution.

Mr Sarma also flagged the shortage of housing for police personnel, saying Assam Police has around 90,000 personnel but accommodation for only about 10,000. “We have to increase that to around 30,000,” he said.

Mr Sarma said that the Dergaon conference was the first such meeting of senior police officers under the new government.

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