Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced that the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) has been withdrawn from the state's Dibrugarh district. Speaking at a press conference, Sarma stated that the controversial law is now in effect in only three districts of the state. He said the AFSPA will now be in force in Tinsukia, Sivasagar and Charaideo districts.
"We had requested Union Home Minister Amit Shah to lift the disturbed areas tag from Dibrugarh as we are planning to develop it as the second capital of the state. He heard our request and a notification has been issued by the Centre in this regard, the CM said. "The AFSPA has been withdrawn from 32 districts of the state and we hope that it will be soon withdrawn from the remaining three districts as well," Sarma added.
The state was declared a 'disturbed area' under AFSPA on the intervening night of November 27-28, 1990, in the wake of violence by ULFA, and it has been extended every six months since then on the recommendation of the state government. After Sarma assumed office in 2021, AFSPA is being gradually withdrawn.
What is AFSPA?
It is to be noted here that the AFSPA empowers security forces to arrest a person without a warrant, enter or search premises without a warrant, and perform other actions. It's an act to enable certain special powers to be conferred upon members of the armed forces in disturbed areas in the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura.
(With PTI inputs)
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