After the killing of three policemen in a day, J&K police also reasserted an advisory asking their men not to ... Read More

(This story originally appeared in on Aug 27, 2018)

(This article was originally published in The Economic Times on 27/08/2018)

SRINAGAR: Frequent targeted killing of policemen across Kashmir has triggered a wave of concern within the department with many officers refraining from visiting their families, especially in south Kashmir, and a few low-ranking Special Police Officers (SPOs) announced their informal resignations publicly.

So far this year, around 30 J&K policemen were targeted and killed in encounters when they visited their homes or native villages. Last year, 33 policemen were killed across the Valley. On August 23, militants killed three policemen, including an inspector across southern Kashmir, when they were visited their homes.

A top-ranking J&K police official told ET that militants are finding it difficult to execute big attacks and are thus desperate to do something “drastic that will send shock waves across”. Earlier this month, over 24 SPOs in Tral area — perceived to be responsible for counter militancy operations –– reportedly announced their resignations in local masjids, following a militant threat urging them to shun their jobs or face consequences.

After the militant threat, many SPOs— who were promoted and regularised as constables following their performance in counter militancy operations in southern Kashmir did not rejoin duties and maintained an extremely low profile. After the killing of three policemen in a day, J&K police also reasserted an advisory asking their men not to visit their homes for more than two to three hours and also inform local police stations about their visit.

“Many of us meet family members in police stations or travel to Srinagar for get together. In winters, many policemen send their family members to Jammu. But, J&K police as an institution will not die with these killings,” another senior police official told ET.

“J&K police are a family and even if a single member is hurt or killed, it is a matter of concern for us. We are taking some steps which cannot be shared at this stage to counter these killings,” Additional Director General of police (law and order) Munir Khan told ET.

