Source: The Sangai Express
New Delhi, February 03:
As part of its ongoing consultations with the public and various stakeholders, the Committee to Review the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act today said it will visit Tripura, Assam and Meghalaya from February seven.
The five-member Committee, headed by former Supreme Court judge BP Jeevan Reddy, will hear the views of public in Agartala on February eight, Guwahati on February nine and ten and Shillong on February 11.The Committee was set up last November by the Centre to take a fresh look at the ASFPA, enacted in 1958, after a surge of protests against alleged human rights violations by security forces in Manipur.
The committee had held extensive and well-attended hearings in Manipur in December last and received representations during three days of sitting in Delhi last month.
Visits are also planned later to Nagaland and other States where the Act is in force, a statement said.
Human rights groups and others have sought repeal of the Act which has been widely criticised and has been in place for 46 years in various parts of the region.
The Army has said that the act was required for conduct of anti-insurgency operations.