Adil Lateef
Srinagar, May 10: Despite surge in militancy and stone-throwing incidents, thousands of youth braving threats from militants, are lining up for police recruitment in Kashmir valley even as they cite unemployment as prime reason for turning up to the risky job of being a policeman.
The recruitment for police is underway at a time when militants have increased their attacks on security forces, particularly policemen. Not only militants have killed cops – who are on forefront of fight against insurgency and stone-pelting – but also thrashed them and ransacked their properties.
Officials said that there are 5,300 vacancies in Jammu and Kashmir Police and the advertisement for recruitment drive was published three months ago. The officials said that 1, 18,000 people applied for these posts, out of them around 50,000 applications have been received from Kashmir. The recruitment drive was started last month and it is still underway.
The young men and women, who turn up for these recruitment drives, assert that the unemployment in Jammu and Kashmir is the main reason for them to join the police force.
Even State Government and police agree that unemployment is the driving force for the youth to turn up for such recruitments.
Another police officer said youth in Kashmir are showing overwhelming response. “All the measures/methods involved in the recruitment process are technology driven with minimal human intervention. The physical tests are being conducted by using RFID chips with computerized readings/results. All the events involved in the Physical tests are also being video-graphed,” added.
Police officials, who did not want to be named, said: “It is encouraging that these young men, who are turning up for police recruitment, are defying militant threats.”
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