Shah chairs top security meet of DGPs, IGPs, intel officials

New Delhi, Oct. 18 (IANS): Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday presided over the National Security Strategy Conference (NSSC) through video conferencing to discuss the prevailing security situation in the country.

Top police sources said all the Director Generals of Police of states, Inspector Generals, selected field officers of the rank of Superintendents of Police and Inspector Generals, heads of Central Police Forces, intelligence agencies and police organisations are participating in this closed-door conference.

Apart from these police officials, the National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Intelligence Bureau (IB) Chief Arvind Kumar and other officials of the IB, the DGPs of border guarding forces BSF, ITBP, and the SSB are also present at the NSSC along with the DG of CRPF, sources said.

According to the officials in the security agencies, during the meeting the prevailing security situation in the country is being discussed and strategy will be chalked out in view of the emerging new challenges threatening the national security.

They also said that the Kashmir situation will be discussed threadbare in the wake of recent individual killings of non-Kashmiris in the Valley and to discuss possible counter measures to effectively prevent these attacks.

The Maoist insurgency in the country will also be part of the discussion, sources added.

The crucial strategic conference gains significance amid several internal security challenges and it is expected that some new guidelines will be formulated to deal with these new challenges, including cross border crimes, drugs and issues threatening the national security at large.

Apart from the J&K issue, presentations prepared by the states on the emerging security challenges in their respective areas will also be discussed in details, a source in the security set up said, adding that many southern states like Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu have received terror inputs by the central agencies, especially after the Taliban take over of Afghanistan in August this year.

The meeting started at 3 p.m. and is likely to continue till late evening, sources said.