MEN IN BLUE IN GUWAHATI
STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: A team of RAF (Rapid Action Force) comprising around 200 personnel in blue fatigue has been airlifted to the State. They were seen on Sunday in Guwahati, the hotspot of the current unrest in the State.
An RAF comprises personnel trained for controlling riots, especially tackling those who attack security personnel during protests. Such attacks may be pelting stones or otherwise.
The Rapid Action Force, according to a source in the State police force, arrived in Guwahati on Saturday night. “We faced a dearth of force earlier, but not now. With around 20 companies of CAPF (Central Armed Police Force) personnel at our disposal for Guwahati alone, we’re well equipped to face every eventuality now. The police with the help of paramilitary forces look after the law-and-order situation in the State, with the Army standing by,” the source said.
On miscreants breaking and burning public property in the guise of democratic protestors, the source claimed that the raids conducted in the State in this connection have yielded results. “Around 1,500 people have been picked up in the State on the charge of damaging public property in the name of democratic protest, and around 200 of them have been arrested, 40 from Guwahati alone,” the source said, and added that miscreants merging with protestors seamlessly and dealing a lethal blow to public property, besides creating law-and-order problems, was a serious problem for the police. “However, we’ve answered to such threats now. We’ve already formed a special squad to tackle such problems,” the source said.