More powers for Assam Rifles in Northeast

More powers for Assam Rifles in Northeast

1. The Centre has empowered the Assam rifles to arrest anyone and search a place without warrant in the border districts of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland and Mizoram. The Assam Rifles is one of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) in India. It conducts counter-insurgency operations in the North East and guards the India-Myanmar border. There are seven CAPF in India. They are a) Assam Rifles (AR), b) Border Security Force (BSF), c) Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), d) Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), e) Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), f)National Security Guard (NSG) and g) Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB)
2. Assam rifles have been given these powers under the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPc).
3. The decision to give such powers has been taken as the Assam Riffles personnel found it difficult to make seizures and arrest in parts of North East which doesn’t have The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act.
4. AFSPA, which is operational in some parts of the Northeast, gives armed forces the power to maintain public order in “disturbed areas”.