Assam police temporarily seal vulnerable entry points to Manipur’s Jiribam

Assam police have increased the security arrangements by temporarily sealing vulnerable entry points along the border with Manipur’s Jiribam district.
According to superintendent of police (SP), Numal Mahatta, the vulnerable entry points except for the highway, have been temporarily sealed.
“We have deployed nearly 200 police personnel along the border areas and restricted the vulnerable entry points temporarily, considering the present situation,” he said on Tuesday morning.
Mahatta along with other senior police personnel visited the border on Monday midnight.
Also Read:BJP maintains silence on issue of change in leadership in Manipur
He said that they have orders from the chief minister to strengthen the security arrangements along the border further.
“We cannot allow anything disturbing from the neighbouring state here. Due to the present situation there, shops are closed, and locals sometimes enter here through boats to collect essentials. We are not preventing them, but they can only come through the bridge which connects Jiribam and Jirighat,” he added.
The SP said that he has advised the locals to stay at home after sunset, as much as possible.
Cachar shares nearly 130 kilometres of border with Manipur and a large part of it is riverine border.
There are multiple ghats through which people travel in boats. Unlike the entry point at NH-127 (National Highway), the ghats do not have the security checking system, according to police.
“People on both sides are well connected geographically, and they keep visiting each other’s places. But now, unauthorised entries have become a big issue and considering this, some additional restrictions have been imposed,” an official said.
Linguistic groups call for peace
Different linguistic groups in Cachar’s Lakhipur town are holding meetings to maintain peace.
A meeting has been arranged at a community hall in Lakhipur on Tuesday where local political leaders and government officials are also invited.
Chairman of Barak Valley Hill Tribes Development Council, Lalthomlien Hmar said, “We are trying to keep a strong communication with each other because so much wrong information is being shared on social media. All community leaders are connected here, and we are instantly clarifying things to control the situation.”
On Monday, the floating body of a lady was found in Barak river in Cachar district. It was suspected that it was the body of the sixth member of the family which was abducted from Manipur’s Jiribam on November 11.
Family members said that they have been called to Silchar Medical College and Hospital (SMCH) to identify the body.
With this, a total of 18 bodies have been brought to SMCH since November 12, ten of them were airlifted to Churachandpur last week and postmortem of other seven bodies have been completed.
Police said that the handing over of these 8 bodies will be done per the government’s order.