Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Nov 29: Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti said today that it was responsibility of Jammu and Kashmir Police to end militancy in Kashmir and hoped that the State would come out of challenges and troubles soon even as she called upon the cops to differentiate between stone pelters and elderly citizens saying the innocent people shouldn’t be harassed.
Addressing Attestation-cum-Passing-Out Parade of 947 recruits at Police Training Centre (PTC) in Kathua this morning, Mehbooba regretted that some youths, who should have books and laptops in their hands, have been handed over stones and said it was duty of the police to understand the situation and bring such youths out of the morass.
“There is militancy in Kashmir. You have to end it. But it won’t end unless you go into the reasons…until you understand the situation. There is need to see to the situation. Police can understand this and help control the situation,” she said.
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Referring to the return of some youths back home after leaving the militancy, Mehbooba said: “Jammu and Kashmir Police needs to take the role of parenting and counseling to bring back more youths into mainstream. Some teenagers have to be treated like children so that they shun the wrong approach and build their careers”.
She said militancy cannot be wiped out by killing militants alone, adding that a more “humane approach” was needed to tackle the problem.
“You have to eliminate militancy in Kashmir. But militancy cannot be wiped out by killing militants alone,” she added and maintained: “we need to understand the reason and the real problem behind militancy”.
It may be mentioned here that highest number of 200 militants have been killed in Kashmir this year.
Asserting that Jammu and Kashmir State was facing number of challenges, which were not faced by other States, the Chief Minister said she had recently urged Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to increase their share of ex-gratia compensations for the martyrs of State police personnel.
“I have urged the Centre to increase ex-gratia of J&K Police martyrs at par with Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs). On our part, we have increased the Government share,” she disclosed.
Recently, out of four Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) announced by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs for Jammu and Kashmir, one of them pertained to bring compensation paid to Jammu and Kashmir Police martyrs at par with CAPFs, which come out around Rs 40 lakh. Presently, the families of JKP martyrs were getting around Rs 22 lakh only.
Noting that behaviour of the police personnel on ground will show how educated they are, Mehbooba Mufti said Jammu and Kashmir has been facing lot of problems and trouble, a reference to militancy and unrest, and hoped that Jammu and Kashmir Police personnel with their “actions and approach” help bring the State out of trouble.
Advocating a “soft” approach for dealing with extremism in the State, the Chief Minister referred to the State Government’s recent decision to revoke cases against first-time stone-pelters in the Valley.
“The police have to engage in counseling of these children. I had invited pellet victims to my home recently. I was surprised to know that most of them were minors (14, 15 or 16 years of age),” she said.
Mehbooba also lauded the State police force for demonstrating discipline and restraint in the face of serious provocations.
She said the job of the police was very sensitive in Jammu and Kashmir, where the challenges were much more than the usual policing in other parts of the country.
Asking the police recruits to have a humane approach in dealing with public, Mehbooba said the real test for them would be outside the training school.
“I have heard about your training and skills…It is not just about firing SLR and AK-47, but how you behave when you face a 9-year-old and an 80-year-old. The real test awaits you outside,” she said.
Reacting to reports of roughing up of Kashmiri prisoners in Delhi’s Tihar Jail, the Chief Minister said, “The shameful incident not only maligned the name of the policemen and their State, but the entire police force.
“In comparison, our (Jammu and Kashmir) police is doing a wonderful job despite being faced with difficult situations. They are dealing with stone-pelting and bullets (militancy) with great determination, discipline and restrain which is praise-worthy. There is no match for our police force,” she said.
Mehbooba added that the drug de-addiction centres run by the police in Srinagar were doing a wonderful job.
“l salute district police chiefs, who despite facing financial constraints, are helping drug addicts to overcome the problem. I would like the officers at district level to supervise such de-addiction centres”.
She expressed hope that more de-addiction centres would come up in the State especially one in every district. In this regard, she called upon the district police chiefs to take initiative. She lauded Jammu and Kashmir Police personnel for launching massive drives against the menace of drugs and hoped that they would go ahead with it.
The Chief Minister expressed concern over the growing graph of crime against women and lamented the fact that the victims were not coming forward with their complaints.
“There are two reasons for women not seeking legal assistance. First, they do not want to publicize family matter, and secondly, they do not have faith in the police,” she said.
“We have set up women police stations so that the victims of domestic violence can talk about their problems openly. Since such stations do not have much strength, district police chiefs need to pitch in and help them get justice,” she said.
She called upon the police to engage in counseling in the cases registered by the women, which would help them a lot.
Mehbooba said also almost all cases of compassionate appointment or SRO-43 were either settled or concluded during the last one and a half year. “The most chased demand of cadre review was undertaken in Police to ensure better promotion avenues to the officers and jawans of the force,” she added.
Mehbooba said the modernization of JK Police is being given a thrust with more sophisticated instruments for crime detection, weaponry and vehicles to match the challenges faced by it.
CM orders withdrawal of
cases against 4327 youths
In a major decision of far reaching impact, Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti today approved the withdrawal of cases against 4327 youth involved in 744 cases of law and order nature.
This followed the recommendation of a high powered committee headed by Director General of Police which submitted its report to her today.
“The DGP has been asked to regularly monitor the progress in the matter and furnish back a fortnightly report in this regard”, according to communication from the Home Department to the DGP sent late this evening.
Today’s decision marks the revival of process of withdrawal of cases started by Mehbooba last year immediately after taking over.
She had started the process of review of cases against youth from 2008 to 2014 and in the first instance 104 cases involving 634 youth were withdrawn within two months of her assuming power. The process, unfortunately, got disrupted due to the continued violence and unrest for later part of the last year.
With this, the total number of cases withdrawn so far on the directions of the Chief Minister has gone up to 848 and the persons benefitting out of these withdrawals stood at 4957.
The Chief Minister, it may be recalled, had committed withdrawal of cases against youth found not involved in heinous crimes and the revival of this process has fulfilled the promise made by Mehbooba.
She recently has also directed review of cases from 2015-2017 (till date) and decision on the same would be taken on the receipt of report by the high powered committee.
The withdrawal of cases against these youth was a major demand from various sections of the society in the State who would be heaving a sigh of relief after this decision.
The Chief Minister described today’s decision as a ray of hope for these young boys and their families terming it as an opportunity for them to rebuild their lives. She hoped the decision would help in creating a positive and conciliatory atmosphere in the State where the youth would be able to build their lives in a much more constructive and positive way.
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