India working on strategies to curb IS threat: Chaudhary

Union Minister of State for Home Haribhai Parathibhai Chaudhary said on Saturday that the central government was working on strategies in curbing the IS threat to India.

"The central government is 24/7 alert. The Intelligence Bureau and other agencies are working on strategies in curbing such threat," he told journalists after addressing the newly trained police officers at North East Police Academy 25 km from Meghalaya capital Shillong.

Chaudhary said the central government has alerted the state governments and the security agencies have been keeping a close watch along the international borders.

On the demand of the pro-talk faction United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) to include Anup Chetia in the ongoing peace talks with the government, Chaudhary said: "As of today there is no such talk about releasing him (Chetia). The government will take action against him and nobody can escape the law and he has to face trial for his crimes."

Chetia was deported to India on November 11 by Bangladesh, where he was arrested in 1997.

On Saturday, the Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court in Assam rejected the bail plea of Chetia, who is the general secretary of the outlawed ULFA. The court also remanded him to 14-day judicial custody.

Arabinda Rajkhowa, the chairman of the pro-talks faction of ULFA, has requested Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi to facilitate Chetia's involvement in the on-going peace process.

Asked whether the central government is keen to have a dialogue with two Meghalaya-based terror groups, Chaudhary said the government's door was always open for talks but said the armed groups should first renounce violence and join the mainstream.

He also said the Centre was aiding the state government in fighting against the GNLA in the insurgency-ravaged Garo Hills region in western part of Meghalaya.