The jihadi 'footprint' in the northeast was in the elementary stage, but it could mature in future, a top IB official said on Saturday.
"There are no major footprints of jihadi terrorism in the northeastern region," Additional Director of Intelligence Bureau R N Ravi said.
"You have radical elements in the neighbourhood. Again, you have some people in the northeast who are disgruntled against the state and the system. There is a convergence between the two," Ravi told media persons after the conclusion of the northeast DGPs conference in Shillong.
The convergence, he said, was at an elementary level, but it could mature soon.
"The security apparatus is focusing its resources to pre-empt any situation which is pregnant with such possibility," the IB official said.
Meghalaya DGP SB Kakati said though only some parts of Assam, Manipur and Nagaland were insurgency affected, states like Meghalaya, which has an international border, were being used by militants as corridors.
He admitted that there were inputs of frequent movement of militants from Bangladesh through the porous Indo-Bangla border.
"We discussed the difficulties in deporting illegal migrants and devised some recommendations to be made to the Centre to remove the constraints," Kakati said.
The two-day meet on northeast's internal security, which was attended by top officials from Army, Assam Rifles, CRPF, BSF, intelligence agencies and police chiefs of northeastern states and West Bengal, also asked the Centre to channelise fast delivery of weapons to forces.
Stress was laid on better coordination among the security agencies and less deployment of paramilitary and central forces.
An official release later said that the conference discussed issues relating to effective border management, hostile trans-border activities, continued immigration and its fall-out, besides police modernisation and training.
The recommendations to the Centre includes, establishment of an institutionalized regional cooperation mechanism, multi-layered border guarding mechanism, review of Free Movement Regime and better infrastructure for the border guarding forces.
Speedy completion of the border fencing along the Indo-Bangla border, issuing of EPIC cards to all citizens and stringent law enforcement against illegal immigration were some of the other recommendations, the release added.
The conference also expressed concern over rising incidents of targetting of North East students in other parts of the counrty, especially in the national capital and lack of adequate sympathy on the part of the police towards attending complaints of such incidents.
The meet decided to raise the issue with concerned authorities.
