The Union Ministry of Home Affairs has deployed a central police force along the Assam-Arunachal border following the killing of ten people over a land dispute.
It is believed that the locals were provoked by insurgent outfits to claim the disputed land.
On January 29, armed people from Arunachal Pradesh raided a village in Assam's Sonitpur district and gunned down 10 people and injured many. It was believed to be a border land dispute.
However, intelligence inputs reveal that assailants were provoked by Maoists or some other local militant outfit to create instability in the area.
"There is this possibility. They (NDFB-S) might try to establish a foothold in the region. Some other outfit might want the people to let them live in the area on the condition that they would protect them. Anything is possible. We are keeping our fingers crossed. We are studying the situation and we have to be extremely careful in the steps we take in the future because it will involve people on both sides of the border," said Shambhu Singh, Joint Secretary, North East, Union Ministry of Home Affairs.
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A battalion of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) is patrolling the inter-state border between Bhalakpong in Arunachal Pradesh and Bhairabkunda in Assam along India's border with Bhutan to curb the movement of militants.
The forces will be deployed till the Supreme Court-appointed Commission headed by retired High Court judge Tarun Chatterjee submits it report, to define boundaries of the two states, in dispute since 1951.
The Chief Ministers of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam have condemned the incident and have ordered an inquiry.
"This incident is highly condemnable. I conveyed it at a high level meeting with the chief secretary, the DGP and the home commissioner last night, and also this morning, and I have directed that every possible step is taken to defuse tension prevailing in the disputed area," said Arunachal Chief Minister Nabam Tuki.
"We are preparing an action plan under which the presence of security forces and police outposts will be increased. I have been touch with the army and paramilitary forces to figure out necessary steps so that such incidents do not occur again. I have also written to the Government of India for a CBI enquiry into the matter," said Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi.
The insurgents are trying to use the Behali reserve forest in Assam as a safe haven and are trying to mislead the security agencies by creating border conflicts.
However, the agencies understand the modus operandi of these outfits and are ensuring that they cannot take any advantage of the situation.
