Powers to Assam Rifles to search and arrest people without warrants is suspended temporarily
The centre decided on Friday to temporarily suspend special powers given to the Assam Rifles to arrest anyone and search a place without warrant in five northeast states - Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland and Mizoram, officials said.
The Home Ministry will now revisit the issue with the state governments, which apparently opposed the move to give sweeping powers to the paramilitary force.
It has been decided that the enabling notifications issued on February 19, giving powers to Assam Rifles be temporarily suspended and the entire matter be revisited in consultation with the state governments concerned, a home ministry official said.
While giving the powers to the Assam Rifles, a Home Ministry notification had said: "An officer of the rank corresponding to that of the lowest rank of members of the Assam Rifles" has been given these powers under the Code of Criminal Procedure.
Officials said on Friday that powers under the CrPC were available to the Assam Rifles under the Assam Rifles Act, 1941. However, after coming into operation of the new Assam Rifles Act 2006, the issue of re-conferring these powers has remained under consideration since then.
Recently, the issue has acquired urgency for effective enforcement of Free Movement Regime on the Indo-Myanmar border (on the 16-km belt on either side).
The Free Movement Regime was streamlined after the bilateral agreement between India and Myanmar on land border crossing was finalised last year. This will require giving suitable powers to border guarding forces, including Assam Rifles.
The Assam Rifles is the leading counter-insurgency force in the northeast. It also guards the India-Myanmar border. The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, which is operational in some parts of the northeast, also gives similar powers to the Army operating in the region.