MHA To Brief House Panel About Assam Rifles In NE

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) will give a thorough account of the Assam Rifles’ operations in north-eastern states to a Parliamentary panel on Wednesday.

The 30-member committee, which will be chaired by veteran lawyer and West Bengal Rajya Sabha MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi, will hear from MHA officials who will explain how the Assam Rifles operate.

The meeting is scheduled to commence at around 3.30pm today.

The meeting’s topic is “Parliamentary Committee on Home Affairs to hear the views of the Ministry of Home Affairs on the functioning of the Assam Rifles.”

The Assam Rifles, together with the Indian Army, are responsible for maintaining law and order in the North East, as well as guarding the Indo-Myanmar border in the region.

The Assam Rifles are one of six Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) under the MHA’s administrative jurisdiction. Apart from administrative and training personnel, it has a strength of over 63,000 troops and 46 battalions.

Last December, the Assam Rifles came under fire after the killing of more than a dozen people in Nagaland’s Mon district, which was followed by an irate crowd vandalising the force’s camps in the area.

The Indian Army’s Assam Rifles started the bungled operation. The force later apologised and announced an investigation into the event.

The Assam Rifles are the only paramilitary force in the world with a dual command structure. While the MHA has administrative control over the force, the Indian Army, which is under the Ministry of Defence (MoD), has operational control.

In a real sense, it is the sole central paramilitary force because its operational roles and regimentation are modelled after the Indian Army. However, as a Central Armed Police Force under the MHA, its recruitment, perks, personnel promotion, and retirement procedures are all overseen by the MHA’s CAPF laws.