Amid the Mizoram-Assam border row, Mizoram Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati on Monday met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the national capital and discussed the prevailing security situation in the bordering areas with Assam.
This was the first meeting of Mizoram Governor with the Union Home Minister after a bloody clash over the border dispute between the police personnel of the two states on July 26, killing 5 policemen of Assam Police and injuring over 50 persons including one superintendent of police.
In the meantime, the Mizoram government has withdrawn the FIR registered against Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and other police officials on Sunday which was duly reciprocated by the Assam Police which also withdrew the FIR against Mizoram MP K. Vanlalvena on Monday on the instruction of Sarma in the interest of de-escalation of tension along the border.
The Assam Police, however, said that criminal proceedings against the erring police personnel and other miscreants will be continued.
The situation had escalated on July 26 afternoon, when at Vairengte auto stand in Mizoram, five Assam Police personnel and a civilian were killed and over 50 others, including a superintendent of police were injured as the Mizoram Police opened fire on a team of the Assam officials.
Immediately after the clash, Shah spoke to the Chief Ministers of the both states and advised them to defuse the tension and also asked them to withdraw their police personnel from the site.
Later, on July 28, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla chaired a meeting with the Chief Secretaries and Director Generals of Police of Assam and Mizoram wherein both the states agreed on the deployment of the CRPF in the disturbed border areas along NH306.
During the meeting, both state governments also agreed to continue discussions mutually to resolve the border issue in an amicable manner.
Earlier, Mizoram Home Department Secretary Pi Lalbiaksangi also wrote a letter to the Additional Secretary (Northeast) Piyush Goyal in MHA complaining that armed police personnel were being mobilised by Assam at Dholai and Hawaithang area along the inter-state border.
Citing reports that additional enforcement of around four platoons of Assam Police Commandos have been deputed, he also requested the Union Home Ministry to issue appropriate instructions to Assam government to refrain from such reinforcements and to pull back those contingents.
