JAMMU: The Jammu and Kashmir Police will get bulletproof vehicles and jackets for most of its jawans serving in terrorism-hit areas, in view of the recent attacks in the Valley, a senior official said today.
26 cops were killed in terror attacks in the Kashmir Valley this year, according to official police data.
“Lots of things are being procured to modernise the police force after recent attacks on policemen by terrorists, and the Ministry of Home Affairs was kind enough to take swift action and sanctioned bullet-proof vehicles for almost all the police stations and senior officers,” Director General of Police (DGP) J-K, S P Vaid told PTI.
To boost modernisation, bulletproof jackets and headgears (patkas) are also under procurement, he said.
He said there is a lot of support from the state and the central government.
When Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Jammu and Kashmir, he had announced Rs. 500 crore for the modernisation of the Jammu and Kashmir Police under the prime minister development programme and that is under procurement.
Most of the top terrorist commanders, including Masood Azhar’s nephew, Jaish-e-Mohammad Mehmood Bhai, Lashkar-eTaiba’s Abu Dujana and Waseem Shah, and Burhan Wani’s successor Sabzar Ahmad Bhat of Hizbul Mujahideen, were among 170 terrorists killed in encounters with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir this year.
The DGP said that roughly 170 terrorists have been killed this year in Kashmir. This is the highest in the last 10 years.
“Except four to five commanders, most of the commanders have been eliminated,” he said.
On cops joining militancy, he said that two such cases have come to his notice.
“We are looking into the causes, there are various reasons. After all the police is also part of the same society and you can get influenced. You live in the same society, same villages. It is not a serious challenge,” he added.
PTI