CHANDIGARH: The police commandos of Punjab will soon find action in Assam as two of their five battalions are being set there next month to assist the state police in combating ULFA. Disclosing this while addressing senior police officers from various states attending a two day seminar on Police Commandos organized by the Punjab Police here last week, state police chief K.P S. Gill said the Assam Chief Minister had accepted his offer in this regard and subsequently the Punjab Chief Minister had agreed to send the commandos to Assam. This is the first time that Punjab police commandos are being sent to another state on such a large Scale to assist in anti-terrorist Operations,
Assam currently has only two companies of commandos and these are considered not sufficient to combat the menace of the ULFA militants.
In his indugural address the Punjab Chief Minister, Beant Singh, while praising the ‘do or die spirit and excellent training of the commandos said this had made possible for the state to slowly replace the paramilitary forces. He pointed out that the 100 companies of paramilitary forces sent O U l to other states during the last Assembly elections had not been called back.
He reiterated his call for greater coordination in anti-terrorist operations between different states, especially among the border states of Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan,
Brushing aside the allegations of human rights violations by the police in Punjab, he said the police force could not be branded as such by a few aberrations, He said the Stale government was not only willing to allow an Amnesty Inter International team to visit Punjab but he was also extending an open invitation to U.S. President Bill Clinton or any of his representatives for come and see for himself the ground realities in Punjab.
Standing in for Union Home Sectary N.N. Tohra, who was to deliver the keynote address but could not make it to Chandigarh because of more pressing official engagements in the capital, Gill Bay a detailed account of Punjab expenence in fighting terrorism,
Article extracted from this publication >> February 25, 1994
