JK has witnessed zero collateral damage in last 5 years: DGP

Lethpora (J-K), Oct 28 (PTI) The graph of terror in Jammu and Kashmir has come down in the past five years and the union territory has witnessed zero collateral damage and no law-and-order incidents, police chief Dilbag Singh claimed here on Saturday.

Singh, who is retiring as Director General of Police on October 31, made these remarks at a function here where the second phase of Operational Capability Augmentation of Police Stations (OCAP) was launched.

Under the second phase, 22 police stations were provided with peace and stability teams consisting of 14 highly trained personnel, a vehicle with latest weaponry and gadgets, and a drone unit.

“We are proud of the fact that in the last five years, there has been zero collateral damage during the course of actions. It is a matter of immense happiness. Law-and- order incidents have also come down to zero. By the grace of God, there has been zero civilian casualty in police action in the last five years. We are very proud of it,” Singh claimed.

He said Jammu and Kashmir is coming out of the dark era of terrorism.

“The graph of terrorism has come down and has flattened. We want to see it come down to zero,” he added.

To achieve zero terror, Singh said, a new plan was devised and OCAP was undertaken.

“Under this, 43 such police stations were identified where terror incidents were taking place more in comparison to other stations.

“In the first phase, 21 were covered on August 2. I am happy that for the rest 22 police stations, peace and stability teams are being deployed today,” he said.

Providing a report card on terror, the DGP said this year so far, 30 terror crime incidents took place in Jammu and Kashmir.

“If we talk about these 21 stations selected in the first phase of OCAP, out of them, 17 were totally terror free, 100 per cent terror free. There were only four police stations where four terror incidents took place — three in Srinagar and one in Pulwama.

“These four incidents took place in January – February only and so in the eight months since, they have also been 100 per cent terror free. So, all 21 have been terror free for the last eight months,” he said.

Similarly, in the 22 police stations selected under the second phase, so far, there have been only three incidents which have all taken place in Anantnag districts, Singh said.

“Rest 12 districts (where OCAP has been implemented) are terror free. For the last 12 months, out of these, 19 stations have remained terror free. In total, 36 stations remained terror free and only seven police stations witnessed seven incidents,” he added.

Singh said OCAP is a mission for the police.

“These teams will be a strong arm of the SHO and will increase the power of the police station,” he said.

Referring to the situation, Singh said the enemy is eyeing the increasing peace in Jammu and Kashmir.

“Five terrorists tried to come from Machil Sector, they were neutralised. Before that, in Baramulla, gunfight took place. Many encounters took place at the borders with infiltrating groups.

“There was a serious violation of the ceasefire understanding in Arnia sector. The reasons are being looked into, but, doubting the intentions of the adversary is justified in this situation and it is imperative that we are alert and take action for the safety and security of the people,” he said.

During the function, demonstrations were given by the commandoes on anti- militancy operations, including mobile vehicle naka, vehicle intervention, blind weapons assembly, and unarmed combat.

Talking to reporters later, Singh said personnel of peace and stability teams “were provided training for special activities to maintain law and order in their areas, to deal with terror crimes, and in firefight, weapon and tactics, counter-operations. The first batch of about 300 personnel was launched in August in 21 teams.”

The second batch of 22 teams comprise 307 personnel.

In addition to the routine work at a police station, they will do their dedicated job of strengthening the sense of security among people. “They will work 24/7 to fight terror,” the DGP said.

Asked about the situation in the union territory, the DGP said when he took over as the police chief, killings were rampant, “but now peace has been established”.

“Law and order incidents are now zero. Stone pelting has stopped, hartals have stopped, life used to come to a standstill, that has ended, and (terror) recruitment has almost stopped. These are an indication that the situation has improved,” he said.

He, however, said people from across the border were trying to keep the militancy alive.

“But an indicator of improvement in the situation is also that most of the encounters this year took place near the border, and most of the militants were killed near the border. Only 12-13 were killed in the hinterland, while over 40 were killed near the borders. It means our security grid has strengthened and the forces are alert,” Singh said.