SSB rushes 2,000 men to violence-hit Assam

NEW DELHI: Indo-Bhutan border guarding force, SSB has rushed 2,000 of its personnel to Assam in the wake of the mass killings and escalation in violence by the militants of banned outfit NDFB(S).

"We have sent 20 fresh companies to these areas. They have reported at the base in Assam and we are trying to enhance and better the border guarding task along this area," Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) Chief B D Sharma told the media today.

He said the paramilitary force already has nine battalions for border guarding duties along the Indo-Bhutan border in Assam and these fresh units would suplement the existing personnel.

One battalion comprises approximately 1,000 personnel and one company has about 100 men.

Sharma said the SSB troops would undertake joint operations with the army and Assam Police units present in the area.

"We are working out strategies in this direction and I can say that we are getting full cooperation from our neighbours, be it Bhutan or Nepal for effective border guarding," Sharma, who is expected to visit SSB bases along the Bhutan border soon, said.

He said operations and security duties along the Bhutan border in Assam becomes a "difficult" task as the frontier is open and unfenced and is marked by dense jungles and difficult terrain.

Army Chief Gen Dalbir Singh, after meeting Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh today, had said that operations would be stepped up in these areas by security forces.

SSB not only guards the Bhutan border but is also the lead intelligence gathering agency in this area.