Assam to host DGPs conference amid terror threat

Amidsta threat by militant outfits and violence by ULFA, Assam will host the 49th All India DGPs and IGPs conference here from Saturday.

Director General of Police Khagen Sarma Thursday said all precautionary measures were being taken to ensure smooth sailing of the two-day conference.

Directors general of police (DGPs) and inspectors general of police (IGPs) from the states and union territories, heads of all paramilitary forces and officials from the Intelligence Bureau (IB), besides all chief ministers of the northeastern states will take part in the conference, he said.

Meanwhile, police Thursday seized three boxes of explosives - including 1,200 detonators, more than 500 gelatin sticks and 12 rolls of wires - from a commercial vehicle near Mizoram House in the city.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh will Saturday inaugurate the conference being held in Assam for the first time.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to address the conference Sunday.

"Militant outfits like ULFA and the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) are trying to carry out subversive activities ahead of the conference and the visit of the prime minister, the home minister and other dignitaries," Sarma said.

"Militant outfits have linked up with jihadi elements and this has added a new dimension to the militancy here," he said.

The police chief said 35 companies of security forces have been deployed in and around the city to make the conference a success.

The ULFA had Sunday triggered a blast in Dibrugarh district Nov 23, killing two people and injuring over 25 others.

The militant outfit Thursday gunned down one person in Lakhimpur district.

Sarma said the militants involved in the killing have been identified and they would be nabbed soon.

He also admitted that the outfit has threatened to target the Hindi-speaking community in the state.