"There Was A Time When...": Jammu And Kashmir Police Chief Amid Terror Threats

Terrorists are threatening minority community employees and others in Jammu and Kashmir to keep the "fear factor" alive but "we should not be cowed down by such acts", Director General of Police Dilbag Singh said here on Saturday.

The police chief's remarks came at a time when Kashmiri Pandit migrant employees and Jammu-based Reserved Category employees are camping in Jammu demanding their relocation outside the Valley in the wake of targeted killings of two of their colleagues – Rahul Bhat and Rajni Balla.

The Resistance Front (TRF), an offshoot of the Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), has issued five hitlists containing names of Kashmiri Pandit employees in the recent past and warned of attacks.

"The terror threats against minorities or sometimes police or forces (is routine). The one who works and who is on the ground faces this type of thing in such a situation. We do not stop walking on the roads in view of apprehension of accidents. If someone threatens us to sit at home, can we stop coming out,” Singh asked.

"We have to take action against them and we are doing that. We will continue our actions against them more strictly," he told reporters here.

The police chief was responding to a question about the threats issued by TRF. Blood-thirsty terror groups who have been bleeding Kashmiris for the past over three decades at the behest of Pakistan's ISI and terrorist handlers sitting across the border are trying to keep terrorism alive, he said.

"The Resistance Front (TRF) and Kashmir Fight are both mouthpieces of Pakistan which are being run from across the border. TRF is like an umbrella to take credit for terror actions which are mostly being done either by the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) or the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM). They do not want to own their actions for some reason," Singh said.

Barring one, he said, most of the modules involved in selective and targeted killings have been busted. "We will not let them succeed in their conspiracy and will bring the culprits to book."

"Threats are meant to keep the fear factor alive. Sometimes they are able to target a minority community member or a non-local labourer on the pretext that they are being settled (in Kashmir) or some other narrative.

"J&K residents have become settlers to them and it is decided by those sitting in Pakistan. This wrong, motivated and mischievous narration is aimed at justifying such type of actions against minorities and poor labourers who are there for a living," Singh said.

He said analysis of the attacks on the labourers revealed that all of them were living either in one-room rented accommodations or in groups at sheds.

Giving credit to the people for the success against terrorism, he said, "People are the biggest beneficiaries of peace. Every parent wants their children to grow in a peaceful atmosphere and every businessman also wants their business to run smoothly."

Singh said it is a matter of great satisfaction that there was no terrorist- or separatist-sponsored strike in the Valley this year.

"Children are studying and businesses are running without any break. There used to be a time when even marriages had to be cancelled due to law and order situations. Nothing like that happens anymore," the officer said. On Wednesday's encounter in the Sidhra bypass in Jammu that left four terrorists dead, the DGP said an investigation in the case is going on and some important clues have been found.

He said the group is believed to have infiltrated from Pakistan and none of those killed were local terrorists.

On the recovery of an M4 rifle from the slain terrorists, Singh said such weapons have been recovered in the past as well but there is no indication to suggest smuggling of weapons left behind by the US in Afghanistan was taking place.

In response to another question, he said the security agencies were fully prepared for the upcoming Republic Day to ensure peaceful functions across the Union territory.

The police chief further said that he would like to see a movie made on the sacrifice of J&K police personnel in the fight against terrorism.

Singh said holding of G20 meeting in J&K is a proud moment for the people of the UT and "adequate security will be provided for the event." PTI TAS IJT

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)