Assam Rifles chief apprises Shah, Rijiju about various NE issues

<p id="content">Assam Rifles Director General Lt Gen Sukhdeep Sangwan met Home Minister Amit Shah and Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju in Delhi and briefed them about various affairs of the northeast region, officials said today.</p>
An Assam Rifles official said that Lt Gen Sangwan interacted with Home Minister yesterday in New Delhi. "The Assam Rifles DG apprised Shah about the security-related issues concerning the northeast region as well as significant contributions made by the para-military force in the region," the official said.

He said that the DG also met Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Rijiju on Tuesday and briefed him about the Assam Rifles contributions in promoting the "Khelo India Mission and Fit India Movement" in the northeast region. Lt Gen Sangwan also updated Rijiju on the progress in converting the Assam Rifles Public School in Shillong into a sports school.

The Assam Rifles DG had met Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and Indian Army chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane last week in Delhi and had apprised them about the prevailing threats and the security situation along the India-Myanmar border.

Smuggling of drugs, arms and other contraband is taking place regularly in the northeastern region across the borders especially from Myanmar. Mountainous Mizoram and Manipur have become the main transit route for drug smuggling.

Assam Rifles troopers have seized huge quantities of drugs and various other contraband worth crores of rupees during the past one year.

Four northeastern states — Arunachal Pradesh (520 km), Manipur (398 km), Nagaland (215 km) and Mizoram (510 km) — share 1,643-km of the unfenced border with Myanmar..