Govt extends AFSPA in 3 districts of Arunachal Pradesh, lifts restrictions from few areas
Oct 01, 2021
New Delhi [India], October 1 : The Centre has extended the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act in three districts of Arunachal Pradesh and the areas falling within the jurisdiction of two police stations bordering Assam by another six months and declared them as a disturbed area in view of continuing activities of banned insurgent groups.
The fresh Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) order has reduced the restrictions in some areas falling under the jurisdiction of two police stations in Arunachal Pradesh which in its earlier order were declared "disturbed area".
According to a notification issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Friday, Tirap, Changlang and Longding districts of Arunachal Pradesh and areas falling within the jurisdiction of Namsai and Mahadevpur police stations in Namsai district of Arunachal Pradesh, bordering the Assam, were declared "disturbed" area under the AFSPA.
In this notification, the restrictions from Roing Police Station in Lower Dibang Valley district and Sunpura Police Station in Lohit district have been lifted.
"Tirap, Changlang and Longding districts in Arunachal Pradesh and the areas falling within the jurisdiction of Namsai and Mahadevpur police stations in Namsai district of Arunachal Pradesh, bordering the State of Assam, are declared as 'disturbed area' under Section 3 of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 from October 1, 2021, to March 31, 2022, unless withdrawn earlier," the notification said.
In its notification dated April 1, 2021, the MHA in the exercise of the powers conferred by Section 3 of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (28 of 1958) had declared the Tirap, Changlang and Longding districts of Arunachal Pradesh and the area falling within the jurisdiction of four police stations in other districts of Arunachal Pradesh bordering the state of Assam as "disturbed area".
The fresh notification was issued after review of the law and order situation in Tirap, Changlang and Longding districts of Arunachal Pradesh and in the area falling within the jurisdiction of four police stations in other districts of Arunachal Pradesh, bordering Assam. Earlier those four police stations declared as "disturbed areas" were Namsai and Mahadevpur in Namsai district, Roing Police Station in Lower Dibang Valley district and Sunpura police station in Lohit district.
The AFSPA empowers security forces to arrest a person without a warrant, enter or search premises without a warrant along with some other actions.
Banned insurgent groups National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-K), United Liberation Front Of Assam (ULFA) and National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) are active in these areas of Arunachal Pradesh.
