Several north-eastern states which share borders with Assam have kept their police forces on alert to thwart possible infiltration of illegal immigrants after the final draft of NRC is published in Guwahati on July 30.

The National Register of Citizens (NRC) is being updated to identify illegal immigrants in Assam bordering Bangladesh. Assam is the only state in the country having an NRC which was first prepared in 1951.

The Arunachal Pradesh government has asked the police department to maintain a vigil at all the check gates, while the Meghalaya Police has been kept on alert along the interstate border with Assam, officials of the two states said.

The Nagaland government is deploying additional forces along the border, while Mizoram officials said that no specific instruction has been issued to the police on this occasion.

The NRC is being updated in Assam with March 24, 1971 as the cut-off date for legitimate claim to Indian citizenship in Assam.

The first draft was published during the intervening nights of December 31 and January 1, containing 1.9 crore names out of a total applications of 3.29 crore people.

(Source : PTI)