SRINAGAR: Members of the Jammu and Kashmir Police will now go home for two hours and it will be a surprise visit. They will have adequate security arrangements till they are home, the new security strategy devised to prevent the attacks on home-visiting cops suggests.
The new strategy will be enforced for policemen visits to their homes in three south Kashmir districts Shopian, Kulgam and Pulwama.
“An advisory had already existed that directed policemen not to visit their families on Eid without security and without the knowledge of their police stations,” a senior officer was quoted saying by a news-gathering agency. “Such visits would be allowed for only two hours and without any disclosure.”
The new strategy has apparently been devised after the rebels killed three members of the state police on Wednesday, the day of Eid when they had gone to spend their time with their families.
Hindustan Times on Friday reported that the three cops “who were killed by militants on Wednesday and two who narrowly escaped death ignored an advisory which had strictly forbidden them to visit their homes or native places on Eid ul Adha following intelligence inputs that they would be targeted.”
The newspaper quoted an officer saying that he had formed teams to monitor whether any officer or constable neglected the advisory, especially those from south Kashmir. “Our force is a big force and it is not possible to keep an eye on every person in the department. Unfortunately, some people neglected the advisory and lost their lives,’’ the officer was quoted saying.
On Eid, rebels killed constable Fayaz Ahmad Shah in the morning outside the mosque where he had gone to offer Eid prayers. Later in the day, Mohammad Yaqoob Shah, another policeman, was mowed down outside his house when he was on his way to begin his duty at Pulwama. An hours later, they shot dead inspector Mohammad Ashraf in another Pulwama village.
So far, no militant outfit has claimed the responsibility for the three killings. However, police have accused the Hizb ul-Mujahideen for these attacks. In the day-long raids, two cops including an officer had a providential escape. On Friday, suspected militants appeared in Icchgam village in Budgam, close to the Srinagar airport, and beat the cops manning a minority protect picket.
The year 2018, witnessed as many as 28 police killings. The pressure has led to some of the special police officials (SPO) actually giving up their temporary engagement with the 130 thousand strong Jammu and Kashmir police.
