‘Ultras given option to surrender before being killed’
NEW DELHI, May 27:
Sending a tough message, Union Home Minister Amit Shah has said that no family member of any terrorist nor close relatives of stone pelters will get Government jobs in Jammu and Kashmir.
Shah also said that the Narendra Modi Government has not only targeted terrorists but also eliminated the terror ecosystem, resulting in a drastic fall in terror incidents in the country.
“In Kashmir, we have taken a decision that if someone joins a terrorist organisation, their family members will not get any Government job,” he told PTI in an interview over the weekend.
Similarly, Shah said, if someone indulges in stone pelting, his family members will also not get a Government job. Click here to watch video
He said some human rights activists went to the Supreme Court against the decision but, at the end, the Government prevailed.
The Home Minister, however, said the Government will make an exception in case someone from a family comes forward and informs the authorities that his or her close relative has joined a terror outfit.
Such families will be given relief, he said.
Earlier, funeral processions used to be taken out in Kashmir after a terrorist was killed, Shah said.
“We have stopped this trend. We have ensured that the terrorist is buried with all religious formalities but in an isolated place,” he said.
The Home Minister said when a terrorist is surrounded by the security forces, he is first given a chance to surrender.
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“We call family members like his mother or wife and ask them to make an appeal to the terrorist to surrender. If he (the terrorist) does not listen, he dies,” Shah said.
The Home Minister said terror incidents have gone down significantly in Jammu and Kashmir as the Government has not only targeted the terrorists but also eliminated the terror ecosystem.
“Through the NIA (National Investigation Agency), we have taken strong action against terror funding and ended it. We have taken a very tough stand on terror funding,” he said.
In case of the banned Popular Front of India (PFI), Shah said the Government has imposed a ban on publication and spread of the terrorist ideology by it.
Muslim radical group PFI, founded in Kerala, was banned under provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) by the Centre in September 2022 over its alleged links with terror activities.
In the case of Amritpal Singh, an alleged pro-Khalistani separatist, “we have put him in jail under the NSA (National Security Act)”, he said.
Singh, the chief of radical Sikh separatist group ‘Waris Punjab De’, was arrested in April 2023 in Punjab under the stringent NSA and subsequently shifted to Assam where he is lodged in Dibrugarh jail.
He recently filed nomination papers from the jail to contest the Lok Sabha election from Punjab’s Khadoor Sahib seat.
According to Union Home Ministry data, there were 228 terrorist initiated incidents in Jammu and Kashmir in 2018 and the number came down to around 50 in 2023.
There were 189 encounters between security forces and terrorists in 2018 and it came down to around 40 in 2023.
As many as 55 civilians were killed due to various terror incidents in 2018. The number came down to around five in 2023.
In 2018, a total of 91 security personnel were killed in terror violence in Jammu and Kashmir, with the figure declining to around 15 in 2023.
Shah said technology will be a key enabler for the new criminal laws that come into effect from July 1 as summons will be issued by SMS, 90 per cent witnesses will appear through video calls and courts will issue orders within three years of filing of an FIR.
“I can tell you with confidence that after three years, our criminal justice system will be the most modern criminal justice system in the world,” he said.
Piloted by the Home Minister himself, the newly enacted criminal laws — the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and the Bharatiya Sakshya Act will come into effect from July 1, replacing the colonial-era Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Indian Evidence Act of 1872 respectively.
In the interview, Shah laid out for the first time many details of the new criminal justice system, which he said are almost entirely driven by technology.For example, all court matters will become online and FIR, court diary and judgement will be digitised. Already, officials have collected finger prints data of nine crore criminals across the country in the last five years.
After lifting finger prints from a crime scene, police will be able to identify the criminal and also if the crime has been committed by a repeat offender from that data base of finger prints within seven and half minutes, he said
“We have brought very big reforms (through the new criminal laws). After the laws come into effect, 90 per cent people will not have to go to courts. The witnesses will appear online,” Shah said.
Shah believes that the influence of black money will increase during the ongoing Lok Sabha elections following the Supreme Court’s decision to scrap the electoral bond scheme, and said it is for Parliament to decide on an alternative.
If the impact of black money rises, then an alternative should be found, he said.
He said that the scheme, which allowed donors to fund political parties anonymously by purchasing bonds from the SBI, was scrapped at an important time.
The Supreme Court had struck down the scheme in February, a month before the Lok Sabha elections were announced.
Replying to a question on the issue, he said, “I believe and this is my guess that it will increase the influence of black money in elections and politics. When political parties submit their account for this fiscal year, then how much money is by cash donation and how much is through cheque will be known. The donation figure by cheques had reached 96 per cent at the time of the bond.”
He added, “Now you will know. If the impact of black money rises, then an alternative should be found. There should be a debate in Parliament.”
Asked if he thought the influence of black money would increase in the ongoing elections due to the scrapping of the electoral bond scheme, Shah said, “I guess so.”
When asked what he considered an alternative to the bond scheme, he said the issue needed to be discussed with all stakeholders, including different political parties. (PTI)
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