Ignore summons to one another’s officers: Assam, Mizoram maintain forces on the border, no backing down

A day after they summoned one another’s officers over the July 26 border incident by which six Assam Police personnel have been killed in firing and clashes, Assam and Mizoram refused to honour the summons. The impasse is including to tensions between the 2 states.
Referring to the Mizoram Police FIR which names him and 6 officers — it has been filed in Vairengte, the city in Kolasib district which borders Assam’s Cachar district the place Assam Police too has lodged an FIR in opposition to Mizoram officers — Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma advised reporters Saturday: “It is childish of them (Mizoram), but the fact is that the place where the clashes happened belongs to Assam. So if a case has to be registered, the jurisdiction falls under Assam Police. But now since cases have been registered (by both states), I feel both governments should hand it over to the CBI or NIA.”

In a Twitter publish, Sarma stated he could be “very happy” to hitch the probe however requested why it was not being handed over to a “neutral agency”.
“Why is the case not being handed over to a neutral agency, especially when the place of occurrence is well within the constitutional territory of Assam?”. He stated he had already conveyed it to Zoramthanga, his Mizoram counterpart.
Assam DGP Bhaskarjyoti Mahanta stated: “We don’t recognise the summons or the case registered by Mizoram Police. They simply cannot say they have jurisdiction over a land that does not belong to them. This (case) does not mean anything to us.”
Mizoram Home Minister Lalchamliana, referring to the Assam FIR, stated Mizoram was not going to respect summons from Assam Police.
On the deadlock, a senior Assam official advised The Sunday Express that “nothing has changed at the border” although the July 28 assembly in New Delhi — Chief Secretaries and DGPs of the 2 states met the Union Home Secretary – determined that Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) can be deployed within the disturbed space, and the 2 state governments will work out an association in coordination with the Ministry of Home Affairs to facilitate the functioning of impartial forces inside a “reasonable time frame”.
As of Saturday, each states had their forces on the border, together with the CAPF — neither able to again down.
According to the Assam official, when the Chief Secretaries and DGPs met Union Home Ministry officers in early July — earlier than the July 26 incident — discussions had led to the framing of a three-point understanding. “One was that they will withdraw their forces from the posts/check gates they had built during the Covid-19 lockdown, that no new constructions will be made, and the status quo will be maintained.” “However, at the last minute, the Mizo side refused to sign it,” the official claimed. He alleged that Mizoram had ramped up development of border posts, roads and so on ever since October 2020. “We even suggested that we should look at satellite imagery pre-October 2020 and solve it in a scientific manner, but Mizoram refused,” he stated.
After the July 26 incident, the officers met once more in New Delhi two days later. “It was suggested that we withdraw our forces to Lailapur, and Mizos to Vairengte. But even that was refused. The Mizoram Chief Secretary then had a word with his Chief Minister, and they said both states will reposition the location of camps into another area which will be determined by the Chief Ministers. However, they backtracked again. Finally, it was decided that a neutral force will be in place, and the Chief Ministers would discuss the next steps within a suitable time frame,” the official stated.
Mizoram Home Minister Lalchamliana stated such an deadlock had been reached as a result of “if Assam moves like this, we have to as well.”
He stated Mizoram wouldn’t budge from its stand on the 1875 boundary notification because it was the “only legitimate notification” of their perspective.
“We are going to stand by it since that was the only notified boundary where Mizos were consulted. The other notifications which followed have absolutely no ground,” he stated.
Members of the Mizoram Boundary Committee, shaped on July 23, handed a decision Friday that the state’s northern facet would comply with the 1875 boundary demarcation.

Lalchamliana stated the Mizoram authorities was all for “solving the problem amicably across the table”. “This problem has deep roots and it has not been solved by previous governments either,” he stated.
Asked why Mizoram was not prepared to withdraw its forces from the border at Vairengte, he stated it was “not possible at the moment”.
“At the moment, my Chief Minister has said it is not possible, I cannot answer why, but it is the stand of the Chief Minister,” he stated.
Meanwhile, a gaggle of MLAs from Assam, led by Assembly Speaker Biswajit Daimary, visited the patrolling publish in Lailapur, Silchar to fulfill cops concerning the bottom scenario. The delegation included Sibsagar MLA Akhil Gogoi.
Jayanta Malla Baruah, MLA and Political Secretary to the Assam Chief Minister, stated the boundary of the state was secure and “not an inch of our land” could be compromised.
“During times like this, we expect all political and non-political organisations to stand with the Government of Assam for the greater cause of Aai Axomi. We hope this dispute will end soon and peace will prevail in the border areas,” he stated.

MLAs from Barak Valley districts of Assam, reducing throughout celebration strains, met in Silchar and stated they are going to transfer court docket in opposition to Mizoram’s Kolasib district SP for his alleged position within the conflict.
In one other growth Saturday, Chief Minister Sarma introduced de-escalation of stress on the state’s border with Nagaland.
“In a major breakthrough towards de-escalating tensions at Assam-Nagaland border, the two Chief Secretaries have arrived at an understanding to immediately withdraw states’ forces from border locations to their respective base camps,” he stated.
In a Twitter publish, Sarma stated: “This is a historic step in our relations. My gratitude to HCM Sri @Neiphiu_Rio for working with #Assam in restoring peace on the border. Assam is committed to ensuring peace along all its borders & strives for social & economic prosperity of #NorthEast region.”