Govt directs PHQ to go into roots of conspiracy

Joint mechanism to counter fresh threats
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, June 10: The Government has put a very strong mechanism in place to check the activities of mischievous elements, who were responsible for resignations of about half a dozen Panchayat members in the Kashmir valley and ensure that the trend was completely curbed.
The Home Department of the State Government headed by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has asked Police Headquarters to go into bottom of the conspiracy, identify the elements responsible for coercing Sarpanches and Panches and initiate legal action against them so that the practice was not repeated in future in any part of the State.
Preliminary findings by the Police Department have revealed that there had been no specific threat to few Panches, who had allegedly resigned and that reasons for their resignation varied from person to person.
“There was no specific reason and common reason behind half a dozen Panches issuing resignation letters in the newspapers instead of giving them to the concerned authorities”, official sources said.
When approached for comments, Director General of Police (DGP) K Rajendra confirmed that a security mechanism has been put in place all across the State, not confining it to the Kashmir Valley where some resignations have been reported, to ensure that not only the Sarpanches and Panches have a free, safe and secure environment but the common man also.
“We are on the job. We will get to bottom of the conspiracy. Who are the people behind it (the resignations)? Who have sponsored the conspirators? At who behest the posters or threatening letters to the Panchayat members have been issued? We will go into the roots and come up with a detailed report very soon’’, Mr Rajendra said.
The state police chief admitted that night police patrolling was being revived in some sensitive areas, where it had been stopped earlier due to peaceful environment.
“The patrolling has proved quite successful. The trend of any fresh resignation has stopped. Still, we have to go into roots of the problem and find out reasons for the resignations, though they were very small in numbers’’, Mr Rajendra said.
Sources told the Excelsior that a high level team of police and Intelligence agencies joined by prominent local people and the Panchayat members have met half a dozen Panches, who had not resigned officially but only issued advertisements in the newspapers announcing their resignation.
A couple of Panches were affiliated to Jamiat-e-Islami while a couple of others had different reasons for resignations, not linked to any security problem or terror threat.
Sources pointed out that police and Intelligence agencies have launched coordinated investigations in all the areas, where posters had come up allegedly issuing threats to the Panchayat members to reason. The agencies were trying to identify the element for pasting posters and issuing threat to the Sarpanches and Panches.
“They could be militants, anti-national elements, criminals or any body else with the motive of vitiating peaceful atmosphere in the State. We are close to a breakthrough. Anyone, who has done the act of spoiling peace in the State, would be identified followed by legal action against him. The case would be taken to logical conclusion’’, they said, adding the joint investigators didn’t find any specific threat to the Sarpanches and Panches, who had issued their resignation letters in the newspapers.
Sources disclosed that now all out efforts of police and Intelligence agencies were aimed at identifying the elements, who had coerced the Panchayat members to come up with the resignation letters to vitiate peaceful atmosphere in the State. They expressed confidence that all such persons would be identified and put behind the bars.
Admitting that it was not possible for any Government to provide security cover to over 30,000 Panchayat members across the State, sources said only thing required was to create safe, secure and peaceful environment not only for Sarpanches and Panches but all the people that a situation didn’t emerge in which anyone had to quite for threats.
However, sources said, security could be provided in the limited areas in general especially during the night hours where the threat perception was high till it was brought to the minimum level.

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