The Jammu & Kashmir police said that they have decided to shift its focus on containing the recruitment of local youth into militant organisation in Kashmir.
Jammu & Kashmir Director-General of Police (DGP) R.R. Swain, who has held a series of meetings this week in several districts in Kashmir, sought inputs from the officers to launch an exercise to contain recruitments.
The officers were instructed that every recruitment to terrorist organisation – as an active terrorist or as an over ground worker or as a hybrid sleeper cell terrorist – shall be taken legal and operational cognisance.
“It will be a matter of investigation as to who motivated him to join the terrorist gang; who provided arms ammunition; who motivated him; which school or madrasa he was attending; who were his friends and teachers; who helped him in contacting handlers across; and which handler is responsible for pushing the youngster into the dark lanes of death and destruction,” a police spokesperson said.
To improve the police and public relations, the directions have been issued to “connect with the common people and provide him an opportunity to be able to trust security force officers and voluntarily part with information”.
“Security forces shall enhance their capacity to operate with minimum collateral damage and inconvenience to the larger public,” the spokesperson said.
The police officers also discussed that those who have not committed an act of violence or terror and show signs of having fallen prey to the conflict entrepreneurs “shall be treated differently through programmes, specially designed to minimise their vulnerability and exploitability by terror gangsters”.
Local recruitment has come down significantly in Kashmir this year. Around a dozen local youth joined militant organisation in Kashmir this year so far, which is relatively less compared to the previous years, according to official figures.
The official figures suggested around 160 locals joined militancy in 2020, 125 in 2021, and 100 in 2022.
