Amit Shah to chair high-level meet of border district SPs on infiltration today

New Delhi, July 9 (IANS) Union Home Minister Amit Shah will chair a conference of Superintendents of Police (SPs) from border districts in New Delhi on Thursday, where key issues including infiltration, illegal immigration, demographic changes, border security, drone threats and narcotics trafficking are expected to be discussed.

The meeting assumes significance amid the Centre’s intensified campaign against illegal immigration, which it has described as part of an organised attempt to alter the demographic composition of districts located along the international border with Bangladesh.

Superintendents of Police from border states and Union Territories, including Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and the northeastern states, are expected to participate in the conference.

They are likely to present ground-level assessments, highlight emerging security concerns and deliberate on measures to address these challenges effectively.

The conference will also take place against the backdrop of the Centre’s decision to constitute a high-level committee a few months ago to examine the extent of demographic changes taking place in different parts of the country and identify the factors responsible for them.

The committee has been tasked with studying issues such as illegal immigration, unusual settlement patterns, organised migration and structural population shifts across religious and social communities.

Over the past several months, Amit Shah has personally visited multiple border regions and held meetings with district magistrates and Superintendents of Police to review the situation on the ground.

During these interactions, he has directed district administrations to closely monitor patterns of illegal immigration and assess their impact on demographic changes in border areas.

The Home Minister has also instructed officials to identify and demolish illegal structures in border districts, as such locations are believed to have been used as centres of radicalisation or temporary shelters for illegal immigrants before they are allegedly provided forged identity documents through organised networks of touts.

Apart from security concerns related to illegal immigration, the conference is also expected to deliberate on the development and welfare of people living in border districts, recognising their strategic importance as the first line of defence against hostile activities and cross-border incursions.

The participants are also likely to review the growing threat posed by drones, particularly those allegedly used to transport arms and narcotics across the border from Pakistan.

In addition, the progress of fencing work along the India-Bangladesh border, especially in vulnerable stretches of West Bengal, is also expected to figure prominently on the agenda during the high-level meeting.

–IANS

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