Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kashmir range, Vijay Kumar on Friday said that Srinagar can’t be militancy free as ultras come to the summer capital for various reasons, including medical treatment.
However, he said security forces are ready to meet any eventuality and asserted that militants are being neutralized before they could establish a base in the city.
“Srinagar is such a city where militants keep coming for medical treatment, raising funds, meetings etc. Srinagar cannot be militancy-free,” Mr Kumar told reporters on Friday on the sidelines of wreath laying ceremony of a CRPF Head Constable, who was killed in an encounter in Srinagar late last night.
The IGP said that it is misconception that any district, where encounter doesn’t take place, is militancy free. “Time and again I have been saying that any district where an encounter does not take place does not mean militants are not present there. The militants keep on changing their shelter and hideouts,” he said.
“We keep on generating information and kill them accordingly,” he added.
The IGP said there are currently 12 militants — including four from Hizbul Mujahideen (HM), four from Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and three from Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) – who are on the top list of security forces in the valley. “We will neutralize all these militants very soon, Mr Kumar said.
Earlier this week, Mr Kumar said that 118 militants, including 107 locals and 11 foreigners, were killed in different encounters with security forces in the last six months in the valley, adding that there has been a decline of 48 per cent in new recruitment in militant ranks in 2020 as compared to 2019. “So far as many as 118 militants, including 11 Pakistani nationals and 107 locals, were killed in different encounters with security forces in the valley. The slain militants included top militant commanders and chiefs,” he said.
Of these, he said 57 were from HM, 25 were from LeT, 22 from JeM, rest were from other smaller groups. “Almost 50 per cent militants killed belong to HM,” he added.