No influx of illegal immigrants amid eviction drive in Assam: Police

Aizawl, Aug 21 (PTI) No cases of entry of illegal immigrants from Assam have been reported in Mizoram following the eviction drive in the neighbouring state, a senior police officer said on Thursday.

This was pointed out at a meeting of police officers held at the Aizawl superintendent of police's office to review the management of Inner Line Permit (ILP), he said.

The ILP is an official travel document issued to outsiders for entry into protected areas of several states, including Mizoram.

The meeting came days after a student organisation raised an alarm and urged the state government to tighten security and surveillance along the state border with Assam following the alleged entry of a large number of non-tribal people from outside the state.

The senior police officer said that the meeting found that Mizoram has not been affected by the eviction of illegal immigrants by the Assam government till now.

"As the eviction drive is currently being carried out in far-off places like Darrang, Dhubri, Goalpara, Golaghat, Hojai, Morigaon and Nagaon districts, there is no report of people from such districts entering Mizoram till date," the senior police officer said.

He said that Thursday's meeting also reviewed the management of ILP and the entry of outsiders in the past few days.

The meeting observed that the combined recruitment rally for Central Armed Police Force (CAPF), SSF and riflemen in Assam Rifles, which was executed in Aizawl from August 20 to September 11, has raised the number of ILP demands, he said.

According to the senior police officer, a total of 7,422 candidates from outside Mizoram have gathered in Aizawl to participate in the recruitment rally, which not only heightened the demands of ILP, but also increased the number of non-tribal people in the streets.

The meeting observed that there is no threat because of the increased number of outsiders owing to the recruitment rally, as they are expected to return to their native places once the rally is over, he said.

The senior police officers said that ILP checks have been conducted in Aizawl on 48 occasions during the current year and a total of 281 people have been arrested for violating the BEFR provision.

He said that the meeting decided to intensify ILP checks by covering each and every locality of Aizawl.

It also decided to seek the assistance of local leaders (Local Councils) and NGOs of respective localities during such exercises, he said. PTI CORR NN