Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta
Q/How are you ensuring supply of essential items to remote areas like Majuli island?
A/We have used boats, enlisted community support and leveraged private boat operators to ensure unhindered supply in Majuli. This was done because our own resources were nowhere close to the demand of boats in the current situation. I will be forever grateful to these selfless patriotic citizens. Assam was one of the first states to set up village defence parties, which are being used to create awareness about social distancing. VDPs and police stations are being used to identify people’s needs, which are addressed by networking with NGOs and using police infrastructure.
Q/What about illegal immigrants in detention centres?
A/Some have been repatriated to Bangladesh. But others whose documentation is not complete... are still in detention centres and are in the process of getting released. Adequate steps are being taken to keep them safe. No case of Covid-19 has been reported from there.
Q/What about the Tablighi Jamaat followers?
A/Around 800 Tablighi followers here were found to have visited the markaz in Nizamuddin. The police has tracked each one of them and they have been tested and quarantined. Sixteen have been cured and released. But it was a huge concern.
Q/Assam also has a migrant population.
A/Migrant in the current context would mean people from other districts as well as states. In order to address their needs, we have set up specific helplines, and have received close to 30,000 requests as of April 16. We have been able to address almost all the reasonable requests in a timely manner.... Central forces like the Border Security Force and Assam Border Police have been doing a stellar job in ensuring that no untoward incident takes place on the international and inter-state borders. All land ports have been closed and a tight vigil is being kept on the border.
Q/Have counterinsurgency operations been hit?
A/The Myanmar army recently carried out operations against insurgent groups, prompting them to take shelter in border areas. We are keeping a tight vigil since the insurgents can be carriers of Covid-19 and weapons. So, operations are continuing in full force, and advisories have been issued to people living in border areas to not give them shelter. If these insurgents want to surrender, we will first quarantine them and then take action.
Q/How are you tracking suspect Covid-19 cases and ensuring people listen to the police?
A/We have leveraged some existing technologies that we use in a very different context. So, we are reorienting the focus of the team to use the same technologies for contact tracing. We are also experimenting with new technologies. But I believe there is no replacing the work done by the boots on the ground and it is not at all a psychological operation. People can see through such intent. They are going out of their way to assist us because the core policing [policy] in Assam is to serve the people.
Q/Do you see a new normal in policing after Covid-19?
A/Our training and development certainly did not prepare us to respond to such a situation. But we have been able to cope with it in an effective manner through deliberate and scientific communication to the last person on ground, not only in terms of standard operating procedures laid down for enforcement but also for self protection and protection of families of our men and women. So, a thorough revaluation of our training programme has to be done to ensure our people are better prepared not only for such situations but also for their sociocultural and economic fallout.
—Excerpts have been edited for brevity and clarity.