Paul Lyngdoh: No CRPF depolyment in Langpih area of Meghalaya

Shillong: Cabinet Minister Paul Lyngdoh on Friday stated that CRPF will only be deployed in sensitive areas of the Assam-Meghalaya border and not Langpih.

The minister said that these areas will be the ones that reported conflicts or have the potential to witness clashes.

Lyngdoh further stated that Langpih was not among such locations as the ground situation does not indicate any possibility of skirmishes or conflicts.

He added that CRPF or other such forces will only be deployed in highly sensitive locations where troubles have broken out or have the potential of conflict escalation.

He claimed that CRPF deployment was necessary because sensitive border areas cannot be left unguarded.

The Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement (KHNAM) earlier claimed that it was dissatisfied with the recent border talks between Assam and Meghalaya.

The KHNAM said that they were not in favour of replacing state police forces with the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in the disputed bordering areas.

Thomas Passah, the working president of KHNAM, claimed that they had concerns about the CRPF being deployed in the borders as it was under the control of the BJP government.

He added that the CRPF being deployed on the border might “inadvertently” favour the BJP-led Assam government.

The concerns were more as they were related to Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sharma.

He added that for the safety of the citizens, the government should not withdraw the state police force from the border outposts.

Earlier on September 30, Assam and Meghalaya decided to deploy CRPF as a neutral force at Khanduli, where a tense situation has been brewing and clashes have been reported between Khasi and Karbi communities owing to border disputes.