|
Shillong, Sept. 7: The Meghalaya government today declared that it has no material to confirm the presence of Bangladeshi infiltrators in the state while as many as 12,321 infiltrators were detected in the past four years.
“No material is available with the government which would confirm the presence of infiltrators in the state,” chief minister Mukul Sangma stated during question hour on the last day of the autumn session of the state Assembly.
He was replying to a starred question raised by Independent legislator Manas Chaudhuri who wanted to know whether there is presence of Bangladeshi infiltrators in the state.
While informing about the steps taken to detect infiltrators, Sangma also enlightened the House about the number of infiltrators detected in the past four years. (See chart)
According to the chief minister, strict vigilance is being maintained along the international border through watchposts, patrol posts, passport checkposts, and intensive patrolling at all border checkposts. He also said special squads have been set up in each of the seven districts to check infiltration.
While raising supplementary questions, Chaudhuri pointed out that while the government has maintained that it has no material to prove the presence of Bangladeshi infiltrators in the state, on numerous occasions, the media has been reporting about NGOs detecting suspected Bangladeshi infiltrators.
When the legislator wanted to know whether any legal sanction would be given to some groups detecting infiltrators in the state, Sangma said the administration was in the process of creating the anti-infiltration directorate, which would co-ordinate with various agencies.
“The directorate will be set up soon and we are working on the number of posts to ensure smooth functioning of the directorate,” the chief minister said.
| 
