Guwahati, Oct 14 (IANS) The Assam government Tuesday said intensified security measures have led to a steep fall in anti-national activities of fundamentalist forces in the state.

The reaction came after the All Assam Students’ Union (Aasu) alleged inaction on the part of the state government in curbing activities of fundamentalist forces and infiltration from across the border.

“The state government is aware of certain external and internal forces that include insurgent groups joining hands together and trying to set up a base in the state and the northeastern region to destabilise the country. Certain jihadi forces are trying to influence youths to join the rank and file,” the government said.

A statement issued by the chief minister’s office said: “Prompt action by law-enforcing agencies have led to the arrest of cadres belonging to Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami and Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh with cache of arms and incriminating documents. A radical group, the Muslim United Liberation Tigers of Assam, founded in the 1990s, has become a non-entity following operations against it.”

The state government has also asked the National Investigation Agency to probe specific terrorist attack cases to bring conspiracy angle into the open.

The statement said: “The state government initiated a host of measures during the UPA Government’s tenure for strengthening the borders, erecting doubled barbed wire fencing, creation of BoPs, intensifying riverine patrolling, flood lighting and raising the number of foreigners’ tribunals to check infiltration from across the borders. It has been pressing the NDA Government to seal the India-Bangladesh border to stop infiltration.”

The state government said the process for updating the National Register of Citizens (NRC), 1951 was taken up following a directive from Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi.

“The state government has been trying to solve the foreigners’ issue and updating the NRC will put all issues to rest,” the statement said.