5,500 more troops being sent to Jammu and Kashmir in wake of attacks

NEW DELHI: As many as 138 terrorists have been killed and 55 arrested in Jammu & Kashmir so far this year, even as CRPF and BSF have stepped up deployment in the Valley by sending an additional 3,000 and 2,500 personnel respectively in wake of the recent civilian killings.
According to Kashmir IGP Vijay Kumar, as many as 130 terrorists have been killed in counter-terror actions, and 39 terrorists and more than 700 overground workers arrested in the Kashmir region since the beginning of this year. In Jammu division, eight terrorists have been neutralised and 16 arrested so far this year, ADGP and IGP (Jammu) Mukesh Singh told TOI.
In order to counter the reworked strategy of the terrorists to utilise “hybrid” recruits for one-off attacks on civilians and easy targets in Kashmir, the CRPF has initiated a series of measures to increase their visibility on the ground and are employing deterrent strategies, a CRPF spokesperson said.
“While the BSF has deployed an additional 25 companies in Kashmir, the CRPF too sent in reinforcements comprising 25 companies in the wake of the civilian attacks and will be deploying five more companies over the next week,” said an officer.
While the focus is to increase the boots on the ground with more policemen and para-military personnel in civilian areas, a source conceded that it remains a herculean task to ensure foolproof security to all the civilian settlements given how thickly populated and widely spread they are.