‘No let up in anti-militancy fight’
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, June 1: K Rajendera, the interim Director General of Police (DGP) said today that he would strive for providing safe and secure environment to people all across the State and noted that time has now come to revert to professionalism in police as militancy has been on the wane. However, he added, there would be no let up in fight against militancy.
In a telephonic interview to the Excelsior, Mr Rajendera, who had taken over the charge of State police chief yesterday from Kuldeep Khoda, said police joined by para-military forces and Army would make all efforts for safe pilgrimage to Amarnath ji shrine by the yatris from June 25 to August 2.
“As yatra to Shri Amarnath ji shrine is beginning in next 25 days, our priority would remain providing full protection to lakhs of devotees, who would be undertaking pilgrimage to South Kashmir Himalayas for 39 days. The yatra arrangements have already been finalized and they would be in place by June 20 or 22, a couple of days ahead of the yatra’’, Mr Rajendera, who had twice served as IGP Kashmir and once as IGP Jammu, said.
Army would man heights around the shrine while para-military forces and police would take charge of security along twin tracks of Baltal and Chandanwari (Nunwan, Pahalgam), base camps in Kashmir and Jammu and National Highways of Jammu-Pathankote and Jammu-Srinagar.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has agreed to provide 74 additional companies of para-military forces for Amarnath yatra, which would start reaching the State from June 15 after which their deployment would start.
“We would continue fight against terrorism. Though the militancy is on wane, our fight would continue against the left out militancy’’, Mr Rajendera said, adding: “we would not only prevent fresh infiltration of the militants from the Line of Control (LoC) as well as the International Border (IB) but also wipe out remaining militants’’.
The new DGP said the forces were on high alert at both LoC and IB to check any kind of intrusions from across. “As snow has started melting with the onset of summer, the militants could try to infiltrate from the LoC. However, our forces were maintaining a very high alert on both LoC and IB to thwart any kind of intrusion bid’’, he added.
Mr Rajendera said better Intelligence network and a close liaison with all security and Intelligence agencies and para-military forces would help Jammu and Kashmir Police tackle all militancy related and other problems.
He said his first and foremost priority would be to provide safe and secure environment to people all across the State. He added that directions have already gone to police that all kind of operations should be conducted by ensuring that the common man shouldn’t feel harassed.
“We are in the process of formulating both short term and long term strategies on all aspects including anti-militancy front, professional policing, safe and secure environment for people, better coordination among all agencies and cooperation of people’’, the new police chief said.
Mr Rajendera said modernization of police force especially on cyber front would remain his priority.
“Modernisation is an unending process. It would go on. It would be further expedited. Community policing would also be stepped-up. With cyber crimes increasing day by day across the country taking Jammu and Kashmir also in its grip, a special focus was being paid on it’’, he said, adding the police personnel were being trained in tackling cyber crimes through special courses across the country.
Mr Rajendera said time has now come to transform Jammu and Kashmir Police into a more professional force after anti-terrorism and anti-crime measures. He added that law and order would be controlled using non-lethal weapons to avoid casualties. Special focus would be paid by the police on crime control measures, he asserted.
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