KL NEWS NETWORK
SRINAGAR
Retired IPS officer and National Secretary of right wing BJP Farooq Khan, who once spearheaded anti-militancy operations in Jammu and Kashmir, was on Wednesday appointed as the Administrator of Lakshadweep.
Khan, a 1994 batch IPS officer who retired in 2013, is currently BJP’s Secretary in-charge of Northeast.
His appointment as Lakshadweep Administrator was cleared by the Union Home Ministry earlier last day. Khan will be succeeding Vikram Dev Dutt, an IAS officer of 1993 batch.
Khan was the first Muslim from Jammu and Kashmir to get a prominent place in the BJP within 15 months of his joining the party.
He had joined the BJP at an election rally in the presence of Narendra Modi in 2014, who was then the party’s prime ministerial candidate.
He retired as head of the Sher-e-Kashmir Police Academy Udhampur in the rank of Inspector General of Police.
The former IPS officer shot to prominence in the mid-1990s when he became the first head of the anti-militancy Task Force popularly known as Special Operations Group.
During his tenure at the helm of the counter-insurgency operations, Khan led various operations against militants and was known for sharp strategizing skills.
63-year-old Khan also had his share of controversies which included gunning down of five civilians at Pathribal in South Kashmir.
After enquiries made at various levels followed by a CBI probe, Khan was given a clean chit and army officers were held responsible for the killings.
A recipient of President’s police medal for meritorious service and many commendations by the army and other security agencies, Khan’s entry into the BJP fold was seen as a move to woo Muslim voters in Poonch and Rajouri area.
His grandfather Colonel (retired) Peer Mohammad Khan, who was in the army of Maharaja Hari Singh, was the first state president of the Jammu and Kashmir Jana Sangh.
A brief about Lakshadweep:
Lakshadweep, a group of 36 islands is known for its exotic and sun-kissed beaches and lush green landscape.
The name Lakshadweep in Malayalam and Sanskrit means ‘a hundred thousand islands’.
India’s smallest Union Territory Lakshadweep is an archipelago consisting of 36 islands with an area of 32 sq km.
It is a uni-district Union Territory and is comprised of 12 atolls, three reefs, five submerged banks and ten inhabited islands.
The islands comprise of 32 sq km.
The capital is Kavaratti and it is also the principal town of the UT.
All Islands are 220 to 440 km away from the coastal city of Kochi in Kerala, in the emerald Arabian Sea.
The natural landscapes, the sandy beaches, abundance of flora and fauna and the absence of a rushed lifestyle enhance the mystique of Lakshadweep.
