J&Okay: Drop in regulation & order incidents however uptick in militant recruitment

IN ITS FIRST full yr as the most recent Union Territory of the nation, Jammu and Kashmir witnessed an uptick in recruitment to militant ranks; the variety of regulation and order incidents, nonetheless, dropped considerably through the yr.
According to police knowledge for the final three years, the variety of regulation and order incidents in J&Okay plunged 75 per cent to 143 in 2020 in contrast with 584 in 2019. Militancy-related incidents additionally dropped 5 per cent to 243 in 220 in contrast with 255 in 2019. The fall is critical compared with 2018, which witnessed 417 militancy-related incidents.
The variety of recruits becoming a member of militancy within the UT has, nonetheless, seen a 22 per cent rise to 174 in 2020 from 143 in 2019. Of the 174 recruits, 76 militants had been killed and one other 46 arrested. Just 52 stay lively, knowledge with the J&Okay Police exhibits.
When contacted, Director General, J&Okay Police, Dilbag Singh, instructed The Indian Express that 2020 marked a big enchancment within the state of affairs on counts of terrorism, regulation and order and safety. “If you look at the past decade, the situation is better on all parameters since 2016. I would say a lot of improvement has been made on law and order and security as well as terrorist violence. Several militant commanders were killed in a single year and civilian and police casualties were brought down,” he stated.

Between January and December 2020, as many as 225 militants had been killed by safety forces working in J&Okay. In the course of 103 operations — 90 in Kashmir and 13 in Jammu — 207 militants had been killed within the Valley whereas 18 within the Jammu area.
Officials stated 46 prime commanders of varied militant outfits had been amongst these neutralised in 2020. These embody Riyaz Naikoo and Junaid Sehrai and Dr Saifullah of the Hizbul Mujahideen. Lashkar’s Sajad Haider, Burhan Koka from Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind and commanders of the newly-carved The Resistance Front had been additionally amongst these killed in 2020, an official with J&Okay Police stated.

The knowledge additionally exhibits that 36 civilians and 45 safety personnel succumbed to military-related actions in 2020. The casualties are decrease than the earlier yr. The variety of J&Okay police personnel killed as a result of militant exercise has additionally seen a 24 per cent decline. In 2020, as many as 61 police personnel misplaced their lives.
Meanwhile, ceasefire violations throughout the LoCs (Lines of Control) have elevated by over 50 per cent, recording 930 incidents in 2020. Over 9,500 cordon and search operations throughout J&Okay had been carried out up to now yr.