Centre summons Chief Secretaries of Assam and Mizoram to discuss border row

NEW DELHI: Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla is slated to hold a meeting with Chief Secretaries of Assam and Mizoram, as well as senior officers of the two states, following violent interstate border clashes between police forces of the two states.

The meeting is scheduled for tomorrow at the North Block, sources said.

This comes against the background of escalating tensions at the border, where 5 Assam police personnel were killed after Mizoram police reportedly opened fire.

Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has announced that the state will deploy three commando battalions in Cachar, Karimganj, and Hailakandi districts, bordering Mizoram.

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Three districts of Mizoram -- Aizawl, Kolasib, and Mamit -- share a 164.6 km long inter-state border with Assam's Cachar, Hailakandi and Karimganj districts.

The area has seen clashes for decades, with the locals and security forces on each side accusing the other of intrusion.

The dispute reportedly dates back to the British era when two border notifications were issued.

Mizoram was earlier part of Assam and called 'Lushai Hills'. It became a union territory in 1972, and a state in 1987. The state, which shares a border with three others, also has a border dispute with Tripura.

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