Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Dec 17: In a serious development, 200 more militants and former militants from Jammu and Kashmir, who had been putting up in Pakistan and Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) for past nearly two decades, have managed to reach Nepal from Pakistan to sneak into India from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar borders. The families including wives and children of some of the militants accompanied them.
The Shastra Seema Bal (SSB), which manned Indo-Nepal border in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, has strengthened its positions with deployment of 3000 additional personnel to ensure that no unwanted persons managed to cross the border into India from Nepal. Significantly, the new deployment of SSB along the Nepal borders included a large number of jawans, hailing from Jammu and Kashmir, who could easily identify the infiltrators trying to enter India.
Official sources told the Excelsior that Intelligence agencies have sounded the presence of nearly 200 militants of Jammu and Kashmir along with 20 Pakistani women and 30 children (of married militants) in different parts of Nepal, who had reached the Himalayan Kingdom of Nepal after procuring fake visas and passports from Pakistan with the help of certain touts by paying them hefty amount.
“The militants have separated themselves in groups and could attempt to infiltrate inside the Indian territory from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, bordering Nepal,’’ sources said, adding the SSB was maintaining a high alert to check infiltration especially that of the militants.
Sources, however, admitted that if the former militants along with their families or alone managed to cross the border, the SSB would be left with no other option but to hand over them to special cell of CID wing of Jammu and Kashmir Police in New Delhi, from where they are taken to their hometowns to face trial in the court of law.
Sources said close to 300 former militants and their families have already crossed over to India in the last few months through official check posts of the SSB, which manned 1,751 kilometers long border with Nepal in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. They hailed from different parts of Jammu and Kashmir. After facing cases of different nature, majority of them have been bailed out by the courts.
Sources said the SSB had during the past sometime apprehended 21 groups of Kashmiri ex-militants returning from Pakistan— 19 groups at Sonauli in Maharajganj district of UP, one group at Jaynagar in Madhubani district of (Bihar) and another at Rupaidiha in Bahraiach district of Uttar Pradesh along the Indo-Nepal Border.
Sources said a number of measures are being taken to enhance the intelligence gathering and technical surveillance capabilities of the SSB.
The Union Home Ministry had sometime back institutionalised procedures to be followed for using the Nepal route for surrendering of Kashmiri youths who had crossed over to Pakistan and PoK in 1990s.
“The Jammu and Kashmir Government (State CID) has validated a list of such people and shared it with the Union Government (Home Ministry). The SSB, by virtue of guarding that border, is the nodal authority to receive such people coming from Nepal to JK police,” sources said.
Sources admitted that infiltration of large number of former militants from Pakistan and PoK, some of them with their families, first to Nepal and then into India could pose serious security risk as Pakistan could also push some of the dreaded militants in the guide of former militants.
The Intelligence agencies of the State, however, claimed that the militants were being proper screened and allowed only after confirming their antecedents. They admitted that there was no concrete mechanism to keep vigil on all the militants, who have returned from Pakistan.
Worthwhile to mention here that Rehabilitation Policy of the State Government had proposed four routes for return of the militants held up in Pakistan and PoK. The routes included Poonch-Rawlakote, Uri-Muzaffarabad, Wagah in Punjab and Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi. However, none of the militants have so far returned from the four identified routes.
Majority of the returnees have taken Nepal route to enter India on way to Jammu and Kashmir.
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