The SSB is a para-military force which guards the open Indian borders with Nepal and Bhutan.
The government has vested powers of search, arrest and seizure to the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) - a para-military force which guards the open Indian borders with Nepal and Bhutan.
The Union home ministry, in a recent notification covering the around 40,000 strong force, has granted and entrusted to the SSB the powers of the SSB Act, which was notified on August 1 last year after it was passed in 2007 recognising the force as an armed force under the said ministry.
The SSB was till recently functioning under the CRPF Act.
With the new notification, the SSB troops can now have the power to undertake search, arrest and seizure procedures themselves as possessed by the police under the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) to prevent smuggling and other crimes along both the borders.
"The recent notification has now standardised and ensured uniformity to the powers executed by SSB men along the two borders, running across seven states and wherever else the force is deployed for internal security and law and order duties," director general SSB M V Krishna Rao told PTI.
The significance of the notification will be important along the Nepal border which has gained prominence and notoriety for smuggling of fake currency and arms and crossing over of militants and terrorists to India, including those from Pakistan.
"With this fresh order we will have our own powers of search and arrest. The new order has brought uniformity along the borders running through various states as the force can now execute these powers till 15 kilometres along the International Border (IB) towards the Indian side," Rao said.
The SSB has been guarding the 1,751 kilometre Indo-Nepal border since 2001 while it has been manning the 699 kilometre
Indo-Bhutan border since 2004.
The new notification will also ensure smooth and easier execution of work for the force as it would be self-dependent to execute its border guarding job and other law and order duties which are entrusted to an armed force of the Union, Rao said.
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