Assam and Mizoram will withdraw their respective police forces and Central paramilitary troops will be deployed at the disputed border site till a permanent solution is found. This was decided on Wednesday in a meeting called by Union home secretary to mediate between the sparring states, people familiar with the development said.
The crucial meeting, called following clashes between the two sides on Monday resulted in deaths of five Assam policemen and a civilian, was attended by Assam chief secretary Jishnu Baruah and director general of police Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta and their respective Mizoram counterparts Lalnunmawia Chuaungo and SBK Singh, apart from the director general of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) – Kuldiep Singh.
After more than two hours of discussions, both the states agreed for deployment of a neutral force, therefore a Central paramilitary force will be posted along National Highway-306 under a senior officer, said a home ministry official, requesting anonymity.
Subsequently, both the states decided to withdraw all their police officers from the site and “agreed to continue mutual discussions to resolve the border issue in an amicable manner”, this officer said.
Assam CS Barua told reporters after the meeting, “Paramilitary forces will take over Veringte border. The process of withdrawal of state police is being worked out.”
{{/usCountry}}Assam CS Barua told reporters after the meeting, “Paramilitary forces will take over Veringte border. The process of withdrawal of state police is being worked out.”
{{/usCountry}}Mizoram CS Chuaungo said the situation was currently peaceful at the border. “We will try to maintain peace. There is no point indulging in violence. Forces are being withdrawn from the area”.
MHA officials said they will continue to facilitate talks and monitor the ground situation.
The CRPF already has five companies (around 500 personnel) deployed there while two companies are on standby.
Assam and Mizoram had been talking through their chief secretaries in a Centre-chaperoned dialogue process to douse interstate border tensions before police forces of the two northeastern states fatally clashed on July 26, shocking the country.
One round of talks in the national capital was held on July 8, an official aware of the development said. Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, too, told the media on Tuesday, putting out his version of the dispute that the talks failed at the final stage of a proposed memorandum of understanding.
The official cited above said the talks between the two sides were focussed on some kind of “status quo ante”, which refers to a return to earlier positions. The process failed because differences persisted over what should be the point of the status quo ante, the person said.
Assam proposed a satellite-based mapping of the disputed interstate border, a proposal that found its way into a draft memorandum of understanding, while Mizoram proposed chief secretary-level talks monitored by the Centre.
“My proposal to him (Mizoram chief minister Zoramthanga) was that we will carry out satellite photography of the borders as on the day of my swearing in (May 10 2021). In the talks, Assam had said that whatever is the status quo situation, be that on May 10 or six months ago or as on date, we should maintain status quo on the border as determined through satellite mapping,” Sarma said in one of his several media briefings on Tuesday.
Northeastern states have a history of ethnic strife. Internal border disputes go back at least a century. The triggers often are disputed claims over land, forest resources, encroachment, ethnic differences and even rumours.
Assam’s border disputes have their roots in how the state was carved up to form other states in the region. Mizoram, which became a state in 1987, was once a part of Assam.
Mizoram’s home minister Lalchamliana declined to comment on the talks but said: “Mizoram stands for peaceful resolution of the border dispute. Assam policemen first crossed into our areas and overran police posts,” he said.